Have you recently seen unexplained injuries on your child, or does your child have lost or destroyed belongings?  What about frequent headaches or stomach aches, feeling seek of faking illness?  Have you seen changes in your child's eating habits or experiencing difficulty sleeping or have frequent nightmares.  Have you seen a decline in their grades or have lost interest in school / homework?  Perhaps your child has shared feelings of helplessness or decreased self-esteem.  Are they showing self-destructive behaviors such as running away from home, harming themselves or talking about suicide?

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These are signs of being BULLIED.  Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Angel Vargas wants to help you and child when they are being bullied, and they come in many forms:

• Verbal - name calling, teasing, and threats

• Relational / Social - spreading rumors, excluding others

• Physical - pushing, hitting, stealing, damaging property

• Cyber (or digital) - harassment via digital applications

• Sexual - inappropriate gestures or comments

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Angel shares that children may hesitate in sharing their bullying experiences because of fear:

• You won't believe them, or they're misunderstood or not taken seriously

• You may make things worse, embarrass or shame them (unintentionally)

• There may be retaliation

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How can we as parents and caregivers help?

• Help children understand bullying and to stand up to it

• Keep lines of communication open by checking in with your children and listening to them

• Build your child's resilience (Alma has a seminar on this topic)

• Encourage your child to do what they love so they can build confidence and make friends.

• Many more are shared by Angel in his presentation

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Lastly, Angel shares many resources to help us help our children