Parenting Guide

11 Things That Might Tell You if Your Child is a Target for Bullies

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Jun 22, 2017

When it comes to identifying a bully's target, it may be easier than it is to identify a bully. Most victims have a stereotyped profile of being smaller in size, quiet or nerdy. While this may somewhat be true, there are also many other things to refer to when identifying them.

Being a victim comes with consequences that may affect them negatively and in the long run. It is important to identify a victim and get them the help they need before it is too late. This is part 2 of our "Stop The Bullying" series, a list of 11 characteristics you can look out for in your child to make sure they are not a victim of bullying.

1. Anxiety

via Giphy

Social anxiety disorder is an anxiety disorder characterised by a significant amount of fear in one or more social situations that may cause a considerable amount of distress and impaired ability to function. It could make someone behave a little more differently which could be a trait of the target of some bullies.

2. Fearfulness

via Giphy

Being afraid is a common thing. Nhaveen, who had been bullied for years rarely reported his bullies to higher authorities because he knew if he did, they will come after him. Victims tend to fear their bullies because they are afraid of what they could do to them.

3. Submissiveness

via Giphy

Much like a bully's dominant behavior, their target would normally possess a submissive one. A study was done by Ankara University, Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences where they asked high school students questions to assess their submissive behavior. The results further cemented past researches which concludes the fact of being submissive is an individual risk factor for victimisation.

4. Depression

via Giphy

They could be in depression because of being bullied. According to the Forbes website, children who get bullied have a higher possibility of suffering from disorders such as depression. Being depressed can highly affect a child’s self-esteem and losing hope.

5. Low self-confidence

via Giphy

When a child feels like they have no hope, they may become weak and fragile, and the weaker link always gets picked on. This characteristic could be both the cause and effect of bullying.

6. Poor social skills

via Giphy

A person with poor social skills, makes it easy for a bully to target them. This characteristic has been portrayed countless times in an array of films and television with most quiet or nerdy characters are almost always bullied. Examples: Bill Haverchuck from Freaks and Geeks, Napoleon Dynamite from Napoleon Dynamite.

 

7. Low popularity

via Giphy

This characteristic comes hand in hand with point #6. If your child lacks social skills, it might cause them to have few or no friends at all. An excerpt from a study done by the University of Bern states that bullies were more popular than other students.

8. Excessive dependence on adults

via Giphy

Some children are clingy, some cannot wait to leave the nest. You can always have your young one be daddy's little girl but they will need to be on their own eventually. Dependent personality disorder is a real thing and it is said that people with this disorder are typically submissive, easily influenced and can be taken advantage of easily.

9. Possess something that is enviable

via Giphy

Every child would want something they do not have. If your child has a new fancy toy, best believe there are children out there who want it too. Though this is no excuse for your child to be bullied, it could happen.

10. Self-blame

via Giphy

Some bullies tend to blame the victim for their wrong act which is also known as 'victim-blaming'. Here, the victim will actually take responsibility for whatever happens instead of defending themselves. It is a combination of low self-esteem and depression that may trigger this characteristic.

11. Helplessness

via Giphy

Targets with this characteristic could benefit the bullies more because it would make it easier for the bullying to happen.

If your child possesses these characteristics, it does not necessarily mean that they are a victim of bullying. It merely means that there are possibilities of it happening and precaution needs to be taken. Individually, these characteristics could be harmless but if put together, it might mean that the person who possesses them all could be a potential target.

See also: 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR TO IDENTIFY IF YOUR CHILD IS A BULLY