Bullying for kids and teenagers exists in many different ways. We all have a shared responsibility to deal with bullying and we want your help to shape our advise section into something that really works for young people.  We are inviting teenagers and young people to email us and let us know how this would best work for you.

 

For the moment here are a few tips which you might find useful:

 

Stay Positive  – If you have had bullying issues in the past it is important that you stay positive. Many of us who experience bullying will be concerned that it might happen again in the future. It is important to stay positive about this and not worry that every time you see someone laughing  or see a few people talking amongst themselves that they are talking about you.  Also sometimes people do things or say things and do not realise that they are hurting others. Of course this does not justify it but telling someone or telling a teacher in this case can usually result in it being stopped very easily

 

Keep involved with others  – Might seem a little obvious to some but taking time to be friendly with others throughout your day  is a valuable thing to do. Get involved with others and do not cut yourself off from the group. Take a little time to chat about topical issues others might be talking about or things your are all interested in. Perhaps chat with the lads in class if they are talking about a match or ask the girls what they thought of that movie on TV last night.  The key here is that you are showing interest in others even if they are chatting about something you are not interested in. You do not need to restrict this to your immediate close circle of friends either. Treat others in the same way and do not restrict yourself to potential friendships with just a small number of people.

 

Join clubs and groups outside of school  – Regardless of what you are interested in it is highly likely that not too far away from you there is a club or group outside of school where you can go to pursue your interest. Joining clubs and groups outside of schools is a great and easy way to broaden your horizons and meet new friends with common interests. It is also a great distraction away from school and a great way to relax after a day. If you are in a class with a bully or a few idiots who give people a bit of a hard time getting out and joining a group or club like this is a fantastic way of making these people less of an influence in your life and taking their power.

 

If you are experiencing bullying - Of course you should talk to somebody about it but this is not always easy to do. If you are experiencing persistent issues with the same people write it down. Keep track of it . Keeping a diary of it in this manner creates a record of it and saves you the upset of having to recall instances. Give your written record to an adult or somebody in authority in your school.  Tell a parent , tell a friend , talk to a teacher or somebody in your school or contact stopthebully.ie and we can offer you further advise and help.

 

What can Stopthebully.ie do for you?

Pat Forde of stopthebully.ie works with bullying targets and schools all over Ireland. Pat has trained in the UK and delivers anti-bullying programmes that have helped a large number of kids, teenagers ,families & adults. These are delivered in groups , school classes and also privately with parents and teens. We can help you improve your situation. Of course we can never promise that nobody will never try to bully you again in the future but with can help you to prevent issues and teach you how you can deal with them again in the future so it stops.  If you want to get in contact or email for any advise please do so. This is a free service for bullying targets and we want to help and we can help.

 

 

For teens who wish to get in contact to help us shape this section in the future here are a few things to consider :

If you have any concerns about bullying situations maybe you can help us to help others. Which  typical examples of bullying  should we use as examples with advice.

What do you think of current anti-bullying campaigns and help in Ireland.

Have your school done anything in particular which you felt really hit the nail in the head and genuinely helped deal with bullying in the school.

How do you think schools should deal with bullying?

Get in contact now or leave a comment and let get started.