BEING BULLIED?
Are you having to deal with other kids who have nothing better to do than to try to ruin your day, week, or month?   These kids feel so bad about themselves that bullying you makes them feel "powerful".  It may feel like the end of the world when this happens to you, but it's not.  Far from it.   This is just a phase many of us go through in life and it does get better.

As many as 70% of all young people have experienced bullying.
 

1 million kids are bullied every week, inside and outside of school.

Mentally dealing with this is the key!  If this happens to you, remember it's nothing to do with you - it's something almost everyone has experienced.   It sucks.   But it gets better.  In time you won't even remember feeling this way.   But we know from experience, any day dealing with a bully can feel like a year!

SHOULD I TELL?    YES.

If you're being repeatedly bullied, and it's not stopping - TELL.  Telling in no way is "tattling". You may not be in a position to punish your bully, but there are those who are.  Be happy about that!  Your bully already has it out for you, right?  So don't think that somehow "not telling" is going to earn any brownie points with him/her.   There are adults, parents, teachers, etc.. who would love to put a stop to it for you.  But they can't if you don't tell them.  Let them know how much it bothers you.  Don't keep it inside.  It feels good to talk to people about it.   Once the bully knows that their actions against you lead to them spending days suspended, grounded, etc.. they will get tired of bullying you real quick!

How to deal with bullying:

• Tell your parents or other trusted adults. They can help stop the bullying.
• If you are bullied at school, tell your teacher, school counselor, or principal. Telling is not tattling.
• Don't fight back. Don't try to bully those who bully you.
• Try not to show anger or fear. Students who bully like to see that they can upset you.
• Calmly tell the student to stop...or say nothing and then walk away.
• Use humor, if this is easy for you to do. (For example, if a student makes fun of your clothing,
  laugh and say, “Yeah, I think my clothes are kind of funny too, but hey I do the best with what I've got!”)    
• Try to avoid situations in which bullying is likely
  to happen.

   

  You might want to:

  • Avoid areas of the school where there are not many students or teachers around.
  • Make sure you aren't alone in the bathroom or locker room.
  • Sit near the front of the bus.
  • Don't bring expensive things or lots of money to school.
  • Sit with a group of friends at lunch.
  • Take a different route through hallways or walk with friends or a teacher to your classes.