Is Your Child Being Bullied About Their Appearance? Here’s What To Do
Appearance-based bullying is one of the most common forms of bullying experienced by children and young people, and it has significant links to mental health challenges. Research shows that bullying related to body image can deeply affect self-esteem, increase stress and lead to longer-term mental health issues including anxiety, depression and eating disorders.
For Children’s Mental Health Week this year, we’re focusing on how to create environments that promote body respect amongst children and young people. This is a key preventative solution in appearance-based bullying and the mental health challenges that come with it.
We’ve teamed up with our friends at award winning bullying prevention charity Kidscape, to share some resources on this topic. Find out more about Kidscape’s work and how to access their support below. And check out our blog post on teaching children about body positivity, here.
From Kidscape:
According to the Anti-Bullying Alliance, more than half of young people have been bullied about the way they look. It’s a shocking statistic. Most of the bullying focuses on weight and body shape, and it has an impact: 60% of young people have tried to change their appearance after being bullied. If you’re concerned that your child is experiencing this kind of bullying, help is out there.
Here are our seven tips on what to do.
Tell them it is not their fault
It’s never okay to bully someone else. Reassure your child that it’s not their fault, and that you’re going to deal with this together.
You can use our log to help you record the bullying and work with the school to make sure it stops. Here’s how to talk to the school about what’s happening.
2. Focus on the positives
Your child may find it very difficult to look past the comments, but help them focus on everything they love about themselves and all the many things that make up who they are.
3. Help them find a community
They may feel alone, but they’re not! Help them meet other children who may be in a similar situation. It’s also important to remind them that true friends won’t make you feel bad about yourself. Help them focus on the people in their lives that love them for who they are.
It can also be helpful to let family members know that your child is going through a tough time so they can give them additional encouragement and support (and avoid saying anything that will make them feel worse at this time).
4. It won’t always be like this
The school years can be a very tough time, and you can help your child to focus on their hopes and dreams and positive activities they can take part in to work towards their future goals. This can also help them make friends outside of school and feel part of a wider community.
5. Role model!
Make sure you are not reinforcing negative attitudes about appearance by making comments about your own looks or the looks of others. As a family, take part in activities that help build self-confidence without focusing on appearance (e.g. taking part in fun activities, socialising with others, trying out different sports, spending time outside, or taking care of a pet).
You can also read affirming books. For example, Little People UK has a reading list to promote inclusion and acceptance of dwarfism.
6. Watch out for peer pressure
As children grow older and spend more time online, it’s likely they will be overloaded with images and videos of ‘perfect’ people. It’s important to help your child understand that those images are usually filtered and that they don’t represent real life. Encourage them to follow people who celebrate body positivity and diversity.
7. Call Kidscape’s Advice Line if you need to
You can get free, impartial advice on your specific situation by calling Kidscape’s Advice Line. Your child may also find it helpful to take part in a free Kidscape ZAP workshop to learn assertiveness skills and techniques for handling bullying situations.