Teen's EXPERIENCE of being bulled

Charlotte, 13
I got bullied when I was in year 6, year 2 and year 3 it was horrible. Speak up about it, tell someone that's how my bullying stopped. X

Emily, 12
When I was being bullied, I didnt want to tell anyone, I thought that they might think that I was making it sound worse than it really is. but after i had told my parents they told my school and they sorted it out. but unfortunatly the person who was bullying me lived in my village, and he used to follow me when i got off the bus and would shout out names. Soon the police got involved as he bullied many other people. if i hadnt told anyone i would have still been very unhappy.

Kylie, 12
I know how angel feels. My friend, also named Callum, turned against me. It really isn't a nice feeling and I cried every day. Now, I see what happened. I really wanted to be friends with him again and he just didn't want to know. I also had a mega crush on him, and when he started going out with Romany, I just about died. I still feel ill when i think about him. I just need help!!!

xx, 14
i have been builled all my life this site has helped me aalot i can feel good about my self and im not a fat cow xx :) =)

Sarah , 17
I've been bullied and i still get bullied now and then but i try to ignore the name calling and people shouting abuse to me but if someone hit me or attacked me i'd say something about it

Danielle , 15
I got bullied for years, although i never spoke up.. felt quite stupid saying i got bullied, was really embrassed.. i used to skiped school because of it. I still try my best to keep my distance from the people who like to pick on me and start fights with me...

Kerry, 13
When I was bullied I didn't at first just speak out.Instead I found a way of showing the bullies that they didn't phase me. For me this was performing in the school concert, and doing karaoke in our school music class. And now I'm not being bullied and i'm getting people telling me how good I was in the school corridor, whereas before they wouldn't even say hi. So now I think that as well as talking about it, it can be good to show people who you instead of being quiet.Coz that gets people to listen to you and to notice you and that can create respect for who you are.

jane, 15
I was bullied last year by people spreading rumours, teachers didn't listen and just took no notice. all they said was ignore them they will soon give up, thing is they didn't. things got so out of control that i took an overdose at school and ended up being took to hospital. i was maded to speak to a sicologist which helped. the teachers at school finally then started to do something about it. i'm not saying that you should risk taking your life to be heard i'm just saying that you should never give up trying. when i ever get any trouble now i keep telling and telling the teachers at school and they do something about it. xxxxx

sophie, 14
i this previous year i have been bullied. it started of as what they called a joke but i didnt find it funny at all. then they got about 6 people to come up to me to me and start verbally harrassing me when i was out of site of the teachers. they excluded me and gossiped obout me behind my back and half the time they wernt quiet enough and i heared what they were saying. what was even worse, i thought these people were my best friends. one person stuck by me and went with me to tell someone, which is the best option, but then they found out. they didnt believe they done wrong and started pushing me away from my remaning friends and bullying me to say sorry for what i believe is telling someone about it but i still am glad i told someone because if they carry on the person i told will be notified straight away... TELL SOMEONE!!!

Mable, 16
When I got bullied it took me along time to say anything about it... But it was soo long that I had deletled the message and reported abuse on the bebo profiles so I couldn't show the evidence... It you are bullied tell straight away!

Jessica, 12
I got bullied at one point by them slagging me off but as someone else said I think they were jealous. At one point they thought I was gonna dob on them so they were really nice 2 me - I h8 them. I have gd friends now though.

Lizzie, 13
I was badly bulllied for a long time. i was beaten up, rumours were spread about me, i was called names the lot but the best thing i ever did in the time i was bullied was tell someone, at first the school didnt do much, but in the end the bully got chucked out of the school, because other people were being bullied by the same girl, and everyone who told helped themselves!!! Tell someone if ur being bullied, its the best thing !!

rosie, 15
i think bullies are just jelous of the person that they are bullying and would like them not to be who they are. the person who is been bullied might have bigger boobs than them (iam and i am getting bulllied for it)or might be slimmer or bigger than them. the bullies only go for quiat people as they know they wont tell and wont stand up for them selfs. we need to stop bullies. if you are one of the quiat people, then go talk to someone who you know and trust and let them know whats going on, dont suffer in silance. Never suffer alone! Be yourself, not what everyone else wants you to be. Dont let bullies win. xxxxx

Angel, 16
I was going out with a mosher called Callum for about 4 1/2 years. A few months ago, we decided to go public. Suddenly, the whole school turned on me for going out with him. I was a "slag, tart, slut, desperate prozzie" for going out with Callum. I didn't spend a day at school without having something thrown at me- more often than not, a condom. Then the worst happened. Callum turned his back on me. he didn't want to know. He'd tried sticking up for me, but his mosher mates didn't like me, and told him if he spoke to me, they'd not let him in his group. he picked them over me.

Source -http://www.bbc.co.uk/switch/surgery/advice/your_world/bullying/bullying_are_you_being_bullied/

Overcoming Bullying - story (video)

The victim of Bullying at school: signs and symptoms

If you're a parent concerned about bullying, it's important to recognize the signs of one who is being victimized.
Ten percent of children could be considered extreme victims who have been the victim of bullies at least once a week for a long period of time. These children are often considered younger, weaker, or sicker by their peers. Victims are just as likely to be boys as girls. They often report strong fears or dislike of going to school. These children often report closer feelings to parents and siblings, but whether this causes them to be victims or is simply how they cope with being bullied is unclear. Being labeled a victim is likely to follow children around from year to year. Most extreme victims report having few or no friends and being alone at recess and lunch.

The victim: signs and symptoms

A child who is a victim of bullying may display one or more of the following behaviors at home*:

* Comes home from school with clothing that's torn or in disarray, or with damaged books.
* Has bruises, cuts, and scratches, but can't give a logical explanation for how he got them.
* Appears afraid or reluctant to go to school in the morning, complaining repeatedly of headaches or stomach pains.
* Chooses an "illogical" route for going to and from school.
* Has bad dreams or cries in his sleep.
* Loses interest in school work, and his grades suffer. If your child normally struggles in school because of a learning disability and is teased about having LD, school may become unbearable for him.
* Appears sad or depressed, or shows unexpected mood shifts, irritability, and sudden outbursts of temper.
* Requests money from you to meet the bully's demands and might even resort to stealing money from you or other family members.
* Seems socially isolated, with few — if any — real friends; is rarely invited to parties or to the homes of other kids. His fear of rejection may lead him to shun others.

Source-http://www.greatschools.org

Bullying - video

Bullying girls (article)

So you know that bullying is generally a bad thing. It stinks to be picked on, and bullies can provoke violent reprisals. But do you really know how to recognize bullying or how to prevent it?

Bullying, particularly among teenage girls, is harder to recognize because girls are more likely to bully through gossip, backstabbing and controlling friendships.

You've probably seen it at your school: girls being excluded from lunch tables, cliques or conversations; girls who make 'rules' for their friends - like what to wear and who to talk to; and girls who spread rumors about their former best friend

"While boys are likely to bully strangers, girls frequently attack within their group of friends," Rachel Simmons, the author of Odd Girls Out, told the New York Times Magazine.

Girls have traditionally been thought of as of less competitive and aggressive than guys, but, according to several new books, this is no longer true. Girls are more likely to engage in "relational aggression" meaning cattiness, meanness, and nastiness within a group of friends.

Amy Weisman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabes, told the New York Times Magazine that teens need to "take responsibility for how they treat each other and develop strategies to interrupt the cycle of gossip, exclusivity and reputations."

Source-http://www.youthnoise.com

Bullying Widespread in U.S. Schools (article)

Bullying is not just a normal, if unpleasant, part of growing up, according to Federal researchers. Rather, children who bully other children appear to be at risk for engaging in more serious violent behaviors, such as frequent fighting and carrying a weapon. Moreover, victims of bullying also are at risk for engaging in these kinds of violent behaviors.

Bullying is widespread in American schools, with more than 16 percent of U.S. school children saying they had been bullied by other students during the current term, according to a survey funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

The study appears in the April 25, 2001, Journal of the American Medical Association. Overall, 10 percent of children said they had been bullied by other students, but had not bullied others. Another 6 percent said that they had both been bullied themselves and had bullied other children. Another 13 percent of students said they had bullied other students, but had not been bullied themselves.

"Being bullied is not just an unpleasant rite of passage through childhood," said Duane Alexander, director of the NICHD. "It's a public health problem that merits attention. People who were bullied as children are more likely to suffer from depression and low self esteem, well into adulthood, and the bullies themselves are more likely to engage in criminal behavior later in life."

The children were asked to complete a questionnaire during a class period that asked how often they either bullied other students, or were the target of bullying behavior. A total of 10.6 percent of the children replied that they had "sometimes" bullied other children, a response category defined as "moderate" bullying. An additional 8.8 percent said they had bullied others once a week or more, defined as "frequent "bullying. Similarly, 8.5 percent said they had been targets of moderate bullying, and 8.4 percent said they were bullied frequently.

Out of all the students, 13 percent said they had engaged in moderate or frequent bullying of others, while10.6 percent said they had been bullied either moderately or frequently. Some students- 6.3 percent-had both bullied others and been bullied themselves. In all, 29 percent of the students who responded to the survey had been involved in some aspect of bullying, either as a bully, as the target of bullying, or both.

The source -http://parentingteens.about.com

Bullying story