School Violence Effects More Children Than You Know

Your son or daughter has never been in a fight and you’re proud to tell people that. You’ve taken the time to teach them the importance of going to school and getting along with their peers. You’ve even been to school to watch them interact with other students and from what you’ve seen, they appear to be well balanced and getting along perfectly fine in school. So it’s highly unlikely that your child or children have ever been directly involved in any school violence, right? Wrong. The truth of the matter is that school violence affects more children than you know and more often than you may think.
 
You may be under the misconception that school violence involves weapons and the principal’s office every time but this isn’t the case. Did you know that a great deal of school violence is unreported and often goes undetected? Before you begin to worry that it might not be safe to send your child to school, this is not to create a state of panic about your child being in school but to make sure that your child or children know that there are resources to help them if they have experienced or are experiencing any form of school violence.
 
Many children experience mild violence on a regular basis and don’t speak up about it because they think their peers will call them a snitch or a baby for not simply “taking it” and keeping quiet. The problem with this scenario is that the violence tends to escalate and may cause your child to act out in a violent manner in retaliation. Repeated exposure to violence can also have a very negative effect on your child’s interaction with other children and their grades.
 
Occasional violence is just as much a problem for many children as those who experience violence regularly at school. Male children are typically less likely to report violence because they have been told that other children will think they’re a wimp. This does not mean that female children are exempt from violence or experience it to a lesser degree. Children who are loners or shy are often targeted for violence because they fail to speak up and appear not to have a support group to turn to.
 
If you suspect that your child has experienced school violence, it is important to make sure they understand that you value their safety more than anything. Give them an open platform to speak without fear of any sort. Explain the importance of solving problems peacefully and give them options for getting help if someone is treating them violently at school. Remember that just because your child has never spoken about it does not mean that they have not been the victim of violence in school.