Bullying Prevention for Students
How to Stand Up for Yourself
Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares another person on purpose.
If you are being bullied:
- Tell your parents or other trusted adults. They can work with your school to help stop the bullying.
- Don’t fight back. Don’t try to bully those who bully you.
- Tell yourself that it isn’t your fault. Nobody deserves to be bullied.
- Avoid areas of the school where there aren’t many teachers around.
- Don’t bring expensive things or lots of money to school.
- Take a different route through hallways or walk with a friend or teacher to your class.
- Always know that you aren’t alone. Seek advice from a friend, teacher, parent, or trusted adult.
How to Stand Up for Someone Else
Think about how you might feel if the bullying was happening to you. You and other students can lend a hand, even when you aren’t close friends with the students who are bullied. Your school will be a better place if you help stop bullying.
What can you do? Lots of things! Think about what may work for you.
- Kids who bully may think they are being funny or cool. If you feel safe, tell the person to stop the bullying behavior. Say you don’t like it and it isn’t funny.
- Don’t bully back. It won’t help if you use mean names or actions and it can actually make things worse.
- If you don’t feel safe telling the bully to stop, that’s ok. Say kind words to the student who is being bullied. Say:
“I’m sorry about what happened. I’m here for you if you need anything.”
- Tell the student who is being bullied to talk to an adult about what happened. Offer to help by going along.
- Pay attention to other students who see the bullying. These people are called bystanders. Are they laughing or joining in with the bullying? If so, they are part of the problem. Let those students know they aren’t helping and most importantly, don’t be one of them.
How to Take a Stand Against Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.”
What should you do if you or someone you know is being cyberbullied?
- Don’t respond to and don’t forward cyberbullying messages.
- Block the person who is cyberbullying.
- Keep evidence of cyberbullying. Record the dates, times, and descriptions of instances when cyberbullying has occurred. Save and print screenshots, emails, and text messages. Use this evidence to report cyberbullying to web and cell phone service providers and a school administrator. Even if the cyberbullying is happening off school property, the school can take disciplinary action against perpetrators.
- Make kindness go viral: respond to negative posts and text messages with compliments and positive thoughts.
Read more tips on how to address bullying behavior.
