School Children and Lice Shaming: Curbing the Bullying

Count the number of times you were bullied as a kid. Take out the number of times you were bullied at school… the total tally will be higher compared to bullying at home.

School bullies are the worst – they taunt and tease children who don’t fit, take away their lunch, harass kids and order them around because they can.

School bullying has been around for years… since the 18^th century in fact. Girls are subjected to this behavior the most, resulting from prejudiced social norms like gender stereotyping. Reasons vary with some people even encouraging school bullying!

“You Can’t Play With Us – You Have Lice!”

Children will be children but sometimes they can be really cruel with a fellow playmate. Head lice and school-going children don’t mix too well – one often leaves a permanent mark on the life of the child, in the form of school bullying.

Head Lice and 5 Facts about School Bullying

Almost a third of U.S. students face bullying at some point of their schooling, sometimes even more than once. Here are some other facts that show how serious this issue is:

• Over 3.2 million students get bullied each year
• About 160,000 teens skip school every day
• 1 in 10 students drop out of school due to repeated bullying
• Physical bullying increases in elementary school and middle school… declines in high school
• Verbal abuse and bullying remains constant throughout the school years

Curbing School Bullying – How to Help Your Child

The first step towards stopping this negative behavior is recognizing signs of bullying your child must be exhibiting. Keep a sharp eye on the signs below:

• Lost or destroyed clothing, books or other items
• Faking illness or really feeling sick at the thought of school
• Reluctance to wake up in the morning
• Sudden changes in eating habits
• Disinterest in school and declining grades
• Sudden loss of friends and avoidance of social situation
• Decreased self-esteem

Now that you know the signs of bullying – talk to your child. Let them know having head lice isn’t shameful. It doesn’t mean he’s dirty and unhygienic. Book an appointment at Urgent Lice Removals to help get rid of lice faster and more efficiently.

What To Do If Your Child Is a Bully?

This happens despite parent’s best efforts at bringing up their children to be good and kind towards others. Fortunately you can correct this by talking to your child and asking to put himself or herself in the shoes of a bullied person. How do they think it feels to be bullied?

Try to instill feelings of empathy for the other kid. Teach him or her to apologize to the person they have bullied because of having lice. After all, getting a head lice infestation is really easy – they can get it too! See how Urgent Lice Removal can help give you a better understanding of how head lice infestations work today! Call us at 800-748-9451 to find out all you need to know.