What nobody ever tells parents about bullying

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Take the first step in bully proofing your child. Download the free 4 Steps to Bully Proof Your Child Quickly Guide.

Nobody ever tells parents how incredibly stressful it is to go through a bullying situation. And it really is a journey that no family ever wants to go through. 

I would say the stress of bullying is the equivalent to getting a divorce. All of a sudden, you wake up, you’re blindsided by this situation that you didn’t want, and you didn’t plan for, and you have to deal with it. 

You have to sort out the bullying situation and you have to be strong for your child. You also  need to use all your deductive reasoning skills to figure out what is going on with the bully. 

And you need to use all of your detective skills to figure out exactly what happened. 

Parents are advocates for their kids in bullying situations

You need to help your child deal with the bullies, who may be former friends, which is something that frequently happens when a former friend turns into a covert bully. You may have to deal with the school if it’s a more serious situation. And in extreme cases, your child may even need to be homeschooled or change schools. 

A bullying situation can be a huge adjustment for an entire  family. And it’s very stressful trying to figure this all out well, you have to be emotionally strong for your child and show them that you aren’t worried when you probably feel terrified inside.

Bullying is a very isolating experience. There’s a pretty good chance you feel like you’ve been sucker punched when you find out what has been going on. It is hard to believe that someone can be so mean to your amazing kid.

The bully’s parents often deny what the bully has done

Dealing with all of this, especially if the bully  child was a former friend. And often when you go to talk to the parent, they will deny it because it’s like, “oh, my Johnny could never do that.”

And many parents have a hard time being realistic about their child and what they’re capable of. And, you know, obviously, some parents are better than others. 

But it can be isolating emotionally for the parent of a bullied child. If you were close friends with the bully’s mother or a friend group, they may  now say that your child is the problem. 

You may feel very alone and very isolated. And these are common things that people feel. Bullying is one of those situations where parents need to take care of themselves as well. And it’s kind of like the airlines, when they talk about putting the oxygen mask on yourself before your kids so you can save their life as well as your own. 

And I highly recommend talking to somebody while you go through this bullying situation, because it’s so incredibly stressful. And you’re going to need to vent and talk to somebody and I recommend Better Help. (affiliate link)

Bullying is stressful and parents also need emotional support

And you know it is going to be very stressful. You don’t want to be heading out probably to any more appointments as you sort everything out. But you probably are going to need to talk and to vent. And sometimes I think when you have a serious problem, it’s better to talk to a professional, you can talk to a friend as well. 

But there’s a good chance they’re not going to understand and they haven’t been through it before. And you really do need support. When you go through something like this. I kind of think it’s like surgery, it’s something you just want to get through. 

And if you don’t take care of it, it can get a lot worse, but you just want to get through it. And you want it to be over as quickly as possible and just recover and heal from this situation and leave it behind you and move forward to better things. 

You will get through a bullying situation

When we go through these stressful situations in our lives, it can feel like it’s going to go on forever but you will get through it. You will get back to normal eventually, or what may be a new normal, but be kind to yourself during this time. 

And don’t forget to think about some of your own needs and how you can just help yourself have an easier time as a parent. 

You can receive 10% off your first counseling session with my Better Help link. (affiliate link).

More posts you might like

• Confident kids are less likely to get picked on
• Parents need to be advocates when their child is bullied
• Why won’t parents admit their child is a bully

Got any comments, questions or tips about what nobody tells parents about bullying? Share them in the comments below.