Situation Three: Bullying
Your child is behaving badly or acting withdrawn and says he doesn’t want to go to school. When you ask why, he says that a bunch of kids have been teasing him and calling him fat and ugly. What do you say? What do you say?
What a parent needs to know:
A main reason for teasing at school is weight. Weight bullying is more common than teasing for sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, physical disability or religion.22
Children with obesity are often bullied because peers see them as different and/or undesirable. This often means that children are not invited to social activities like parties or are excluded from certain groups.23
Bullying can lead to depression, anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, loss of interest in activities that your child used to enjoy and may even impede academic development.24
“Bullying can lead to depression, anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, loss of interest in activities that your child used to enjoy and may even impede academic development.”24
Tips for what a parent might say:
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I’m so sorry this is happening and I’m really glad you told me. Teasing is not fair and is wrong. It really can hurt your feelings. |
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One of the hardest things about teasing is that they are talking about your weight in terms of how you look. |
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They are making you feel like how much you weigh is a measure of who you are as a person. And it is not. You are (FILL IN with positive attributes, e.g., caring, a good friend, smart, a hard worker). |
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Weight is a measure of your health and carrying extra weight can hurt your health. |
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I love you and I don’t have a problem with how you look, but as your parent, I’m concerned that you are carrying around extra weight and this can hurt your health. It can also mean that you don’t have as much energy or get to do the things that you really like to do. |
