Bullying is intentional
tormenting in physical, verbal, or psychological ways. It can range from
hitting, shoving, name-calling, threats, and mocking to extorting money
and treasured possessions. Some kids bully by shunning others and
spreading rumors about them. Others use email, chat rooms, instant
messages, social networking websites, and text messages to taunt others or
hurt their feelings
Boys tend to use physical
intimidation or threats, regardless of the gender of their victims.
Bullying by girls is more often verbal, usually with another girl as the
target.
Types of bullying
Any child can be bullied,
particularly younger children and those who have few friends or are easily
intimidated. At any age, bullying can take many forms. For example:
Physical bullying
includes hitting, punching, kicking and other types of physical harm, as
well as destruction of a child's property.
Verbal bullying includes
teasing, name-calling, taunting and racial slurs, as well as spreading
gossip or malicious rumors.
Cyberbullying happens
most often through:
Web sites (including
social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter)
Blogs
Instant messages
(IMs)
E-mail
Chat rooms
Text
messaging/texting
Cell phone photo
messages
Virtual worlds
Who Are Bullies?
Children who regularly
bully their peers tend to be impulsive, easily frustrated, dominant in
personality, have difficulty conforming to rules, view violence
positively and are more likely to have friends who are also bullies.
Boys who bully are usually physically stronger than their peers.
Moreover, several risk
factors have been associated with bullying, including individual,
family, peer, school, and community factors. With respect to family
factors, children are more likely to bully if there is a lack of
warmth and parent involvement, lack of parental supervision, and harsh
corporal discipline. Some research suggests a link between bullying
behavior and child maltreatment. Also, schools that lack adequate
adult supervision tend to have more instances of bullying.
If you are bullied…
Tell an
adult.
Many young people fear telling an adult because they don’t want to
look like a snitch or seem weak. However, adults can help end the
bullying. Also, it may make you feel better to tell an adult.
Stand up for
yourself.
Believe it or not, this will help you gain respect from others.
Practice what you might say to a bully with a friend, your mirror,
or an adult. Practice saying it in a firm, confident voice. You may
even encourage others to protect themselves from bullying, too.
Tell the
bully to stop. Calmly walk away.
Believe in yourself and tell others how you feel and what you think.
You will gain respect from others. Also, by leading the way and
showing others that you can’t be bullied, you can help prevent
bullying in the future. You can also encourage others to protect
themselves from bullying.
Do not fight
back!
It’s hard to do, but walk away from a bully and ignore them. If you
give in to a bully and fight back, you could end up getting in
trouble instead of the bully! If someone is hurting you physically,
try to call for help or get away fast and get help from an adult.
Lighten the
air!
Make a joke to lighten up the mood. Say something funny to distract
the people involved.
Make new
friends and get involved.
Making friends, and having interests and extracurricular activities,
will make you feel better about yourself and the bullying situation.
It will introduce you to people who share similar interests. When
making friends, make sure you have positive friendships that are fun
and free of bullying.
Don’t blame
yourself.
It’s important for you to know that it’s not your fault. No one
deserves to be treated this way. If you’re being bullied, try to
stop it either by yourself or with help from an adult.
Be strong!
Bullies like to upset people, particularly those who can’t stand
up for themselves. Be in control so that the bully won’t feel in
control. It’s important to feel confident and have good self-esteem.
Even if you don’t feel it at the moment, acting like you do will
help. You may find that you are pretty good at handling a bully
after all, and the next time you won’t have to fake the confidence
Here are some tips
that may help protect you from cyberbullying:
Don’t give out
personal information online, whether in instant message profiles,
chat rooms, blogs, or on Web sites.
Don’t tell anyone
your e-mail or instant messaging passwords, even your friends.
If someone sends a
mean or threatening message, don't respond. Save it and show it to a
trusted adult.
If someone is
sending mean messages to you through IM or texts, just log off or
shut off your phone. You can also ‘block’ certain people from
sending you messages on some Web sites. You can’t be bullied if the
bully can’t access you!
If you see someone
being bullied…
Although you may not be
directly involved in the bullying, there may be times when you see
others being bullied. And even though it may be easier to stand by and
watch or ignore the bullying, try to keep in mind, we all need a
little help from time to time. Think about how you might feel if the
bullying was happening to you. Here’s how you can make a difference:
Stand up for
the victim.
It takes a lot of courage, but try defending the person being
bullied. This can shock and embarrass the bully so much that they
leave their victim alone.
Don’t join
in on bullying.
If you see someone being bullied, don’t join in. If the bully tries
to get you to help, refuse and walk away.
Stop the
rumors.
Don’t help spread rumors about another person. You wouldn’t want
rumors spread about you, so don’t do it to someone else! If someone
gossips to you, let it end with you – don’t pass it on to others.
You can even tell that person you’re not interested.
Tell an
adult.
Don’t just stand there and watch, especially if someone is being
hurt physically. Tell an adult about the bully and what’s going on.
If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe telling an adult, ask the adult
to keep your comments private.
Offer help.
When the bully is gone, try and help the person who was bullied
and make sure he or she is okay. Encourage her to talk to an adult
and stick up for herself.
When you help someone
who’s being bullied, you are not just helping someone else, you’re
also helping yourself. It’s important to stand up for what you believe
in and help others when you can.
“Be who you are and say
what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter
don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss
“Why should I
care what other people think of me? I am who I am. And who I wanna
be.” - Avril Lavigne
Remember It's not your fault if you are being bullied- The Bully is
the person that has serious issues
A
Bully is not Cool....A Bully is a Fool!
Credit:American Psychological
Association, NIH, The Mayo Clinic, Girlshealth.gov, U.S. Department of
Health
