How to Stop a Bully

"Recently we reported that the Federal Government has taken notice, holding the first-ever bullying summit in August. And they've put up a comprehensive web site called "Stop Bullying Now" . But even the Federal Government's man in charge of school safety, Kevin Jennings, told us, "it's taken us a long time to develop a bullying problem. It's going to take some time to solve it."

Until that happens, parents and their children are faced with the question: How do you deal with a bully?"

-Carol Costello and Bob Ruff

Costello and Ruff are two reporters from CNN who wrote an article on bullying, there is also a video attached that lists steps you can take in order to stop a bully.

Check it out the article from CNN here!

Workplace Bully

Bullying doesn't just happen to children. It can occur to anyone at anytime, anyplace. The workplace has been known to harbor bullying among employees. Whether it's your boss, or a co worker, bullying in the workplace can make your job miserable. Try reporting your situation to the Human Resources Department. Or if you want to try to care of the harassment yourself, here are some handy tips:

-Ask a trusted mentor what they would do in your situation
-Confront the bully in a professional way; you don't want to sink to their level. Crying, or showing any other form of weakness will only fuel the bully. That is the type of reaction they're looking for.
-Complete your work well. The bully is hoping you will fail at your job. If you prove them wrong, you will defeat them.
-Alert superiors of what you're working on. The bully might try and spread rumors and gossip that you are slacking on the job. If you make sure people know the truth about what you're working on, you will protect your reputation as a good worker.
- The bully could try and isolate you from you peers, so keep up your relationships with office co workers.

Read more from the About.com article, "What to do About Workplace Bullies"
Image Source

Know the Signs

Cases of bullying often go unnoticed. Children might be afraid the bullying will become worse if they tell, and bystanders could get scared they will become the next victim if they try and help out. Sadly, some victims might believe no one will be able to help or stop the harassment even if they do tell. This is why it's important to know the signs of someone being bullied so you can intervene before the situation gets worse.

list comes from Kidscape

If you see any of these signs in someone, ask them if they're being threatened or bullied. Know the signs of bullying so you can help stop the torment sooner.

Picture source

Why People Bully

Picture is an example of "popular kids." From the San Fransisco Chronicle.
This is a scene from the movie Mean Girls. It was an influential movie that comically addressed the issues of bullying in schools.




The stereotypical bully is bigger than the other kids, probably not very smart, extremely violent, with very low self esteem. However, the reality is that more kids falling into the "popular" clique are the ones who are bullying. They have higher self esteem and usually just want to maintain their status by putting down other kids.

If you want to learn more about why students bully, check out this article on the urban martial arts website about the top 5 reasons why people bully.

Let us know in the comments if you think of more reasons why people in your class might bully!

Celebrities Speaking Out

Last year, we were overwhelmed with news of teenagers being so severely bullied that it drove them to take their own lives. Upon hearing this news, many celebrities are speaking up. They are sharing their stories about being tormented through their school years, and encouraging kids who are bullied to keep their faith and to seek help from those people who care all around them.

Take a look at some of the celebrities sharing their stories and speaking out against bullying.

To read about celebrities pulling together to make a PSA for kids who are bullied, visit the article from Fox News.

To read about many celebrities sharing their personal experiences with bullies, visit the Hollyscoop article to hear from Demi Lovato, Lance Bass, Talo Cruz, and others about bullying.

To watch a clip from the Ellen DeGeneres show, speaking up against bullying, visit the Ellen Degeneres Show website.

Ellen DeGeneres, host of her own talk show.

Child Gets Plastic Surgery to Avoid Bullies

Click Here to visit the source, Yahoo News

Do you think it should be okay for children to get plastic surgery? What if it prevented them from getting harassed? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Students Bullied...by Teachers

Although we have mainly been focusing on bullying in the school system, where one student harasses another. There is another kind of bullying that is even harder for a student to do something about. According to the article from WebMD, there have been some anonymous surveys conducted that say 45% of teachers admit to having bullied a student. Take a look at the article and find out more about what students and parents should do if they find out a teacher is "using their power to punish, manipulate, or disparage a student beyond what would be a reasonable disciplinary procedure." (definition according to Stuart Twemlow, who is quoted in the article)