Bullying can place an extraordinary amount of strain on any child who is on the receiving end but bullying also has a long reaching effect on family and friends too. Wherever the bullying occurs, it can very quickly damage confidence, social skills and self-esteem if left unchecked. Bullying can also affect the child's overall health if the situation continues as facing fear on a regular basis can be very damaging.

If your child is being bullied, it is important that you play an active role in guiding your child through this difficult time. Watching for tell-tale signs of bullying are important, sudden secretive behaviour for example, becoming less communicative, perhaps they seem to be a shadow of their former self? These are common traits and sometimes behaviours can become extreme opposites, an out-going child may suddenly become introverted and insular. Always monitor unusual behaviour as it can be very telling.

The important thing is to be understanding and be available to talk. Children need to know that their parents act like a security blanket around them and that their parents can protect them from any dangerous situation. Getting the child to open up to you may be the most difficult aspect but once you have managed to get them to explain what is going on, sit with them and reassure them:

• Establish what the bully is doing to them and then take time to understand how these actions make your child feel
• Do not belittle the actions that are upsetting your child, bullying is powerful whether it is a physical or emotional onslaught; make sure your child understands that it is not their fault
• Reassure them that the bullying will be stopped but that they must tell an adult if they get bullied again. Explain that there is a procedure in place to stop bullying and this means involving the school

Take bullying seriously and take every action to stop it in its tracks. Bullying really can have a long term negative impact on the child so consider the following steps:

Communicate

It is important that the communication airwaves stay open. Providing you have all of the relevant information to hand, the bullying can be prevented before the child's emotional and physical defences become breached.

Enjoyable Times

Provide some fun times as a family group so that your child can forget about the bullying for a little while and enjoy some quality time together. This is important as it can help to build up some resilience against the more unpleasant times.

Relaxation and Meditation

Enabling your child to have an introduction to relaxation techniques and then meditation, can be a wonderful resource which can help them to problem solve, build up their self-esteem as well as to learn to be able to let go of all tensions. Meditation can also help your child to combat any effects on their health as healing meditations can be very successful.

Journaling

Introduce your child to the benefits of journaling, this gives them the chance to unleash their fears and angst in private but it has the added benefit of being very therapeutic.