Tips to stop bullying

Why bullys do it

Jealousy is a main reason why people bully others. They might be jealous of the way you look or the clothes you wear, Maybe you're clever and get good marks at school, or you've got a loving family who care about you. Sometimes people bully because they feel inadequate compared to you and they want to make you feel miserable like they do.

Bullies may target people because they are different. This could be because of their sexuality, the way they talk, their race, their size or religion.

It makes them feel good about themselves. By bullying other people they feel powerful and they think this is how other people will see them. They think they look tough and will then be popular, some may do it for attention or to make people afraid of them. What ever happens don't let bullying stop you from reaching your full potential in life

How to stop it

At School, if you're being bullied at school, ask someone (such as a teacher) to tell you about the schools guidelines on bullying. Most schools have a written policy on bullying, and this may give you an idea of what you can do and what your school should do.

Don't ignore it, if things don't get any better, ask for the bully to be removed from the school, so that you have a 'Safe and friendly learning environment'.

Use our diary, write down what's happened and how you feel. It can be hard to remember things, so it's a good idea to keep a record of what happened, when and where.

Keep evidence, keep nasty emails and text messages.

Stay in a group, don't go anywhere by yourself, bullies will be less likely to approach you if you're with a group of friends.

Be Strong and Smile, try to act confident and keep a smile on your face, bullies take advantage of weaker people. If you smile and look like you're confident and in control the bully will feel less confident and will probably leave you alone.

Stand tall, standing upright will make you feel bigger and more confident.

Calmly walk away, showing that you're not just going to stand there and take it shows that you're not an easy target.

Make new friends, making new friends will give you confidence and make you feel better about yourself.

Get involved in activities, this will keep you busy and introduce you to people who share similar interests. Self defence or Karate classes are a good idea. This is not so that you can attack people, but so that you are able to defend yourself if people attack you. This will increase your confidence if you know you are capable of standing up for yourself.

Keep eye contact without staring, if you keep eye contact with the bully you will look confident, even if you don't feel it inside.

Distract the bully, this can be a difficult thing to do, but if you can think of an obscure comment, gesture or joke, it can confuse the bully. The 'and' method can be a really good distracter. Every time the bully says something you don't like try just saying 'and' back to them.

Kindly invite the bully to your karate class so that together we can help them channel their aggression in a more positive and productive way.