Bully blight

Is it happening at your children’s school?

“Ever since I can remember I have been bullied,” went one student’s testimony in a story that appeared on Edu-u.com, “but it really started as soon as I started secondary school. There was this one girl in my class who, along with her cousin, singled me out and for 3 years continued to bully me. I was never physically bullied but I think that verbal bullying is in some ways worse, as the scars from that can take longer to heal.”
“After having told the teachers on several occasions but to no avail, I decided (wrongly) to take matters into my own hands. I started calling her names and even though I knew I was just sinking to her level, I found that it got to her, so much so in fact that she told a teacher. The tables had turned and she didn’t like it,” the victim continued.
“The trouble came when I got called into the teacher’s office and told not to bully this girl. I couldn’t believe my ears. I told the teacher how this girl had been bullying me for years and I was just trying to get her to see how much it hurts. The teacher luckily was sympathetic to my situation and although she warned me that I must not bully she spoke to the girl in question and the bullying stopped.”
“After about six months we began to become friends. I think she realized that I wouldn’t put up with being singled out. As for her cousin, he stopped when she did.”
“The moral of this is, don’t ever give up and never ever think that being bullied is the child’s fault, the problem is with the bully,” the victim concluded.
You can remind your child that when the bullies are bothering them that “You are worth ten of them, so don’t let them get to you!”
There are different types of bullying including physical bullying, verbal bullying, and
exclusion from activities like when one child is picked to not be included. For example, “No one play with Frank.” Or, “Don’t be her friend.”
Remember that many times bullies come from homes where there is little support or guidance. They need to be held accountable for their actions. It is never alright to bully someone and it is never alright to be bullied.