These and other materials are available online at:
www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.govWhat Should I Do If I’m Bullied?
What is bullying?
Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares
another person on purpose. The person being
bullied has a hard time defending himself or
herself. Ususally, bullying happens over and over.
Sometimes bullying is easy to notice, such as with
hitting or name calling, and other times it’s hard to
see, like with leaving a person out or saying mean
things behind someone’s back. Both boys and girls
bully, and both boys and girls get bullied. Bullying
is not fair, and it hurts.
How to deal with bullying:• Tell your parents or other trusted adults. They can
help stop the bullying.
• If you are bullied at school, tell your teacher,
school counselor, or principal. Telling is
not tattling.
• Don’t fight back. Don’t try to bully those who
bully you.
• Try not to show anger or fear. Students who bully
like to see that they can upset you.
• Calmly tell the student to stop…or say nothing
and then walk away.
• Use humor, if this is easy for you to do. (For
example, if a student makes fun of your clothing,
laugh and say, “Yeah, I think this shirt is kind of
funny-looking, too.”)
• Try to avoid situations in which bullying is likely
to happen. You might want to
• Avoid areas of the school where there are not
many students or teachers around.
• Make sure you aren’t alone in the bathroom
or locker room.
• Sit near the front of the bus.
• Don’t bring expensive things or lots of money
to school.
• Sit with a group of friends at lunch.
• Take a different route through hallways or
walk with friends or a teacher to your classes.
