This page is for parents and students to read through together.
What is bullying?
The definition of bullying is: words or actions that are repeated, to make another person feel bad…examples are: name calling, pushing, shoving, leaving someone out, and more…. What other forms of bulling can you think of?
So what do you do if you are getting picked on or you see someone else being picked on?
Self-respect starts with you. You have the right to protect your feelings, yourself and your property, in a safe way.
Here are some different actions to practice and try out if you feel you are being bullied.
- Be assertive and ask the bully to STOP. This means you should have your shoulders back, body calm and eyes looking directly at the other person.
- Ignore and walk away. You do not have to attend every argument you are invited to!
- Walk away and stay away- a bully can’t bother you if you’re not around.
- Have a friend walk with you. They can stand up for you.
- Confront, in a non-threatening way. Ask them why they are doing what they’re doing. Calmly but firmly tell them to stop.
- Tell them if they stop they can play with you.
- Tell an adult. Sometime this is necessary to get the other person to stop.
NOW PRACTICE these solutions, with someone or in front of a mirror. We all know that practice can make us better and more comfortable with our actions.
Why do Bullies bully?
There can be many reasons, here are a few:
- They feel bad about themselves and take it out on someone else.
- They don’t know how to be a good friend.
- They feel left out.
Be an UPSTANDER: This means to stand up for the person being bullied. The next time you see someone being bullied, stop and think, “What can you do to help this person?”
- First, do not put yourself in danger. You may need to get an adult to help.
- You could walk up next to the person being bullied and ask them to come with you.
- You could look the bully in the eyes and ask them to stop bulling your friend.
- What other ideas can you come up with?