Teenage is a tough time for our kids. It’s a time when they are finding conformity in everything that they come across. And if there is something that threatens their status quo, bullies and harassers are created. It’s one way for the teens to gain confidence and strength by intimidating other around them. Bullying is a lot more easier when the target is younger than the bully.
But amidst all this, LGBTQ teens are the ones who suffer the most. They are threatened and bullied while they are striving to understand and discover their identities.
Non-LGBTQ teens, who are presumed to be potentially LGBTQ are also targeted in the same manner like their LGTBQ counterparts. And with the social media aggrandisement, it all turns out to be a lot more easier for the bullies to target their targets. The bully remains anonymous while the bullied tends to find themselves in the labyrinth of provocation and self harm.
First things first
Parents, most of them, don’t really assume the possibility of their child being an LGBTQ, unless the the child steps in with the confession. Kids don’t need to confess to something that’s intricately part of their identity. So when parents oust out this possibility, they also ignore many other possibilities with it, like their kids could be harassed or bullied. Not every child is strong enough to deal with bullying by themselves.
Parents need to take the responsibility of understanding their child’s sexuality for the sake of their health. LGBTQ kids can easily tread through this tough time, legally and morally, if they have their parents support.
How parents respond to their child’s unusual choices will reflect how they look onto themselves. Many kids want to see themselves from the eyes of their parents and it if the parents don’t approve of their LGTBQ child, how can you expect others to do so?
LGTBQ bullying—taking the right action
Bullying isn’t reported most of the time, and if it’s your LGBTQ child who is bullied, it can get a little more tough for them to come to you for their problems. Many LGBTQ teens won’t want their parents to be part of a debate on their sexuality, which is possible.
As parents, there are different warning signs that you can look for. Not just your LGBTQ child, but every child could face depression, anxiety and being withdrawn due to bullying. Being parents, it’s also your responsibility to know how your kids are responding to bully. Around 43 percent of all children are cyberbullied.
To stop cyberbully, parents can resort to parental control apps that could identify the potential signs of bullying.
When you successfully find your child’s bully, it’s time for you to take the right action. There are certain statutes and school rules that could help discipline the wrongdoers. If the school isn’t able to help kids effectively, they can also file criminal charges against the bully.
If your child is being bullied, this should be your action plan:
- Hire a lawyer who knows how to deal with your cyberbullying
- Talk to the school administrators
- Inform the police ASAP so that the bullying reported and acted upon right away.
Comments are closed.