Dealing with a bully

Dealing with a bully:

Don’t show emotion; a bully wants a reaction.

Try to stay in a group of friends as a bully won’t target a group.

Be confident; stand tall; hold your head up and look the bully in the eye.

Either tell the bully to leave you alone or give him a look that says “this isn’t worth my time” and walk away.

Do not respond to cyber bullies.  Print out and save everything.

If a bully is bothering you, keep a record of what was said and done and include dates, times, and places.

Tell a parent, teacher, principal, or counselor what’s happening.  Also, tell your friends so they can stay with you and give you support.Bullies try to isolate those they are bullying.  Do not let that happen.

Agreeing with a bully: Most bullies use provocative statements to get some sort of rise or reaction from you. Agreeing with them is a powerful way of turning the usual rules of bullying on their head. Your agreement will be the last thing they expect, and is a neat way to neutralize an insult. When you give one of these a go, remember that you don’t have to believe what you are saying, your goal is to get rid of the bully:   “Yes, I stutter. That is a part of me just like my being caring and intelligent.  Would you like to know more about stuttering?”

Acting as if bullying doesn’t matter is an important step towards getting rid of bullies. If they believe you don’t care, they’ll move elsewhere.

Bullies get their thrills from watching kids fight back, get upset or annoyed. They love nothing more than a big reaction. Walking away shows a bully that you’re not interested in a fight or in any confrontation whatsoever, physical or verbal.

 Once you have turned your back on a bully, walk calmly to a safe place. Turning your back might feel like the last thing you should be doing, but it can be effective.

Asking bullies to repeat what they’ve said is often enough to put them off. Most haven’t got the nerve to say it again when you ask them to. Or, agree with them and ask them if they know anything about stuttering and why 1% of the population stutters.