I don't have fond memories of grade school. I was a quiet kid who didn't get in trouble and got good grades. That meant I was picked on by some of the "cool" kids, which wasn't easy. It made me insecure about myself, and I still carry some of that with me today. But the bullying I experienced was really nothing compared to what you see in the news today. I worry that my children will see even a small portion of what some kids have to go through on a daily basis. There are lots of reasons kids get bullied. They don't wear the right clothes, they don't act the right way, or they don't look like everyone else. A new study of third through sixth graders shows that obese children are more likely to be bullied, regardless of things like class, race or academic achievement. The research, which will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Pediatrics, studied over 800 six to nine-year-old children. (Previous studies have shown bullying peaks between these ages.) "Researchers found that obese children had higher odds of being bullied no matter their gender, race, family socioeconomic status, school demographic profile, social skills or academic achievement. Authors conclude that being obese, by itself, increases the likelihood of being a victim of bullying," according to the report. Previous research has shown that parents of obese children rate bullying as one of their top concerns. That's with good reason, since obese children who are bullied tend to experience more depression and anxiety than children who are not bullied. So what can parents do? Is it better to address the teacher, school staff, or the other parent directly if your child is being bullied? How can we instill the confidence in our children to feel good about themselves regardless of how they look and what others have to say? If you have a child who is overweight, have they experienced bullying? What did you do about it? |
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