Monday, November 13th 2023, 10:39 am
News 9 spoke with Kirk Smalley, the cofounder of Stand For The Silent, to talk about signs of bullying and how to identify it in your child.
Smalley lost a son to suicide after he was bullied at school. Smalley and his wife now raise awareness about bullying.
One sign Smalley says to watch for is a sudden change of not wanting to go to school or a change in appetite.
“I'm not hungry, feigning illness. I got a headache. I got a stomach ache. I don't want to go to school,” Smalley said.
He also says that unexplained injuries could point to a problem.
“Ty would come home, and he'd have a new bruise or a new scrape on him. And we'd ask about it. And he'd never really have a concise good answer,” Smalley said.
Another key sign is if a child is giving away their stuff.
“If a child starts giving away some of his prized possessions, you really need to pay attention to that,” Smalley said.
For more information on Smalley’s organization, click here.
November 13th, 2023