Is your child feeling left out?

Children can be cruel. They can gang up, gang down. Isolate one kid. Say mean things. It may impact some kids; other kids don't show the result it's had on them for a while.

Childhood is not really what we may have experienced as children ourselves. Our kids are dealing with dimensions that we were never exposed to including screen impact, bullying, peer pressure, social expectations, our own expectations of them.

Quite often, kids who get ganged up on or isolated, in a bid to get in control of the situation, turn bullies or turn inwards further pushing everyone away.

So, considering this happens all around and in one way or another your child may be impacted by it, what really can you do about this?

For starters, talk to your child and find out if they're feeling something.

Look out for a change in behavior. That's always a great indicator that somethings afoot.

Most often kids may not directly talk about the issue. And that is likely because the child is not aware of what is pulling them down. Daily conversations about their day at the three golden hours - 'morning wake up', 'just back from school' and 'before sleep time' will help the child feel secure and cared for.

Listen for cues in their talk and not just the way they might act out by saying, "I don't want to go to school" or "I don't like this teacher" or "I don't want to be anyone's friend". These are just symptoms of an underlying issue. Much like the fever we experience, and we all know to be rid of the fever, we need to find and treat the cause.

Our natural instinct is to be protective and try to solve the issue for our child, but that may be more detrimental than we think.

When we solve a problem for our kids, our actions scream that we don't have faith in their abilities. Now that's a crippling belief if any from a child's point of view.

The best and yet painful way to support the child is to allow the child to resolve the issue on their own, talking to us all the while and with a solid belief that if they're overwhelmed, you are always there.

"Feeling alone? I'm here.

Want to talk? I'm here.

Come home. I'm here."

These phrases become increasingly important as kids grow into teenage and further. You are their fort, strong with a warm hearth.

All they have to remember is "Come home, I'm here."