If you have a child with food allergies, you're probably used to watching nutrition labels. But there's something else you might need to watch out for: bullying. New research shows that kids with food allergies are often victims of school bullying, and in many cases, parents don't know about it.
The journal Pediatrics published a study looking at more than 250 families in which a child had food allergies. The parents and children completed separate questionnaires about incidents of bullying, distress, and quality of life. Nearly 50 percent of the children reported bullying or harassment for any reason. More than 30 percent reported being bullied specifically because of their food allergy. The bullies were primarily schoolmates, and often the harassment involved threats with food.
Higher rates of bullying corresponded to lower quality of life in the kids, researchers found. They also discovered that parents were only aware of the bullying about half the time. In cases where parents knew about the situation and could provide support, kids reported a better quality of life and less distress.
Study authors suggested that children who have food allergies feel more socially vulnerable, which could predispose them to harassment. But if parents are involved in their kids' lives and proactively help them deal with the bullying, children are better able to cope and feel better about life in general.
None of our kids have known food allergies, but we're no strangers to school bullying, unfortunately. Our little boy, Jayman, was in preschool last year. There was a group of boys in his class who behaved almost like a gang. They'd band together to tease the other students, talk back to the teacher, even physically intimidate their classmates.
One day, our little boy came home from preschool very subdued. He wouldn't talk to me for a while, but finally admitted that one of the bullies had pushed him down the slide. Jayman had hit the ground hard and skinned his knees. Oooo, the Mama Bear in me was furious!
Hubby and I chatted with Jayman about how to handle bullies, and thanked him for telling us about it so we could be involved. We called his teacher and made her aware of the situation. Jayman's teacher admitted that several other parents had called her about bullying problems in her classroom. Eventually, several of the boys had to be suspended.
It's sad that bully behavior is so prevalent, even in a class full of cute little four-year-olds. But it certainly made us realize that we need constant vigilance as our children go through school. We may not be able to stop every bullying incident in their lives. We definitely can stay involved, provide emotional support, and help our babies solve whatever persecution issues they may face.
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