Bullying – Don’t Suffer in Silence.

Bullying shouldn’t be tolerated. It can come in different forms, such as,

• Physical abuse
• Mental abuse
• Just little things like name calling e.t.c

We know there are lots of posters telling you about bullying, but it is serious and you should tell someone about it. You can tell your teachers, parents or any relatives – just don’t keep it quiet!
Bullying makes you feel:

• Intimidated
• Unhappy
• Scared
• Stressed
• Worried,

No one should have to experience these feelings, so, stop bullying and stop yourself being bullied – tell someone, DON’T SUFFER IN SILENCE!

We have experienced bullying ourselves and we know what it feels like. We felt intimidated around school and everywhere we looked there was always someone laughing at us. We told our parents and teachers and action was taken against the bullies, also we stood up for ourselves and made sure the bullies didn’t know we were scared. After this the tormenting stopped and now we’re happier at school.

- By Jemma and Lauren

Bullying

Why do they do it? That snide comment about your outfit, tripping you up in the corridor, spreading nasty rumours: and on the more physical side hurting you, ganging up on you and generally intimidating you, bullies are everywhere.

Last year more than 31,000 children and young people called the help service ChildLine about bullying: it was the commonest problem that people suffered with.

Not only does bullying seriously affect people's day to day life, it can drastically damage their self-esteem and confidence. Today, at least two young people under the age of 25 in Britain will be overcome with bullying and kill themselves. End their life. Bubye, world. Bullying is clearly an epidemic.

So what can you do? Well for starters, work out if YOU are a bully. Do you taunt somebody constantly, taking it way beyond a joke? Do you hurt other people, tripping them up or punching them; do you frequently blame people for your wrong-doings and get them into trouble; do you gang up on anyone and generally make their life a misery? Think about this carefully. And if the answer to any of these is YES, then you need to reconsider your life. Maybe you don't realise you could be hurting somebody, but constant unkindness can, and sadly does, ruin lives. How would YOU feel if you were scared to get out of bed each day? So just don't be a bully. You don't look big and you certainly don't look clever.

If YOU are the victim of bullying, get help, NOW. It is NOT YOUR FAULT you are being picked on. Nobody has any right to upset you, and you DO have the right to feel safe and happy. PLEASE tell a responsible adult NOW, this minute. Your Mum, the headmaster, a teacher, your friend's mum, anybody who could help. And they WILL help, if you just ask. Don't put up with it, tell an adult and get them to sort it out, and life WILL get better.

And of course if you ever see someone being picked upon, don't just walk away. Be sensible - please don't get hurt yourself if it's too dangerous for you to get step in (i.e. a gang beating someone up), but always tell a responsible adult IMMEDIATELY. Not tomorrow, not next week, NOW. And be a friend to the people who get picked on. Everybody needs a pal.

Now you've read this, don't just forget about it. Make sure that you never bully, and help anybody who is being messed about. You never know, you might save their life.

- By Vix

 Don't put up with Bullying!

Name one thing that is cruel and can damage someone for life...bullying. When someone I knew was bullied she became withdrawn, upset and had no self esteem. She really believed she was as stupid, freaky and ugly as they said. Now she still hasnt recovered from this and is still very quiet and insecure. One thing she should have done is told somebody-anyone like a teacher, friend, parent. If she had the people who were bullying her may have been stopped earlier. The bullies were bullying her because they thought she was weird because she wasnt the same as them but there are so many reasons for bullying such as not fitting in, phyisical appearance and if you have done something supposedly to a member of their gang! Bullies are cowards and generally wont mess around with you unless they have their little gang! The best thing to do if you are being bullied is TELL SOMEONE!!!!!! They wont be angry or blame you and they can sort out the problem! Plese dont put up with being bullied as bullying is the cause of over a quarter of the suicide deaths in England.

- By Hanna