Derby child psychologist urging parents to take bullying 'very' seriously
The latest statistics from 'Childline' show from April 21 to March 22, over 8000 of their counselling sessions were about bullying
Last updated 6th Sep 2023
A child psychologist in Derby is urging all 'GP's, parents and schools' to take bullying and mental health 'very seriously'.
It's as schools across Derbyshire start their new term this week.
The latest statistics from 'Childline' show from April 2021 to March 2022 Childline delivered 8,006 counselling sessions to children and young people about bullying:
- 6,927 of these counselling sessions were about bullying in-person, a 67% increase compared to the year before when there was the national coronavirus lockdown.
- 1,079 counselling sessions were about online bullying.
- The top three concerns where a child spoke to Childline about in-person bullying included: insults, taunts, name calling; bullying about difference and violence.
- For counselling sessions on online bullying the top three concerns included: nasty comments, threats, and intimidation.
Dr Ella Woods is founder of 'The Child Psychology Hub' and said: "If they've (parents) opened up that conversation early then it's more likely that their child will feel confident to come talk to them. Put your own feelings aside, getting angry or upset isn't going to help the situation.
"In an ideal situation, we want to try and get their school on onboard, however, some children don't feel confident that this is the right decision. I would really be encouraging parents to give their child plenty of space to talk about how they're feeling and the situations that they've experienced at school."
Dr Ella Woods said she has this advice for parents: "Encourage their children to spend time with peers who do treat them well and make them feel good about themselves. Our children need help understanding the relationships that bring out the best in them.
"I would also encourage parents to try and make sure that their child has other exciting or interesting things that they do outside of school, where they feel that they are accepted.
"If parents can put the time in to emotionally support their child then their child is going to start to feel more confident in actually taking action against the bullies."