COMMUNITY & THE ARTS FOR Kids BY Kids

Hello Maryborough!

My name is Phoebe Lee and I am eleven years old. For Kids By Kids tells kids what’s going on in Maryborough from their point of view.

Recently, I have heard of and witnessed multiple events of bullying. People have been harmed and upset, when they don’t deserve to feel that way.

But what is bullying?

Bullying is when a person or a group of people use aggression, teasing, or are unkind to another person. There are four main types of bullying. These include:

● Cyberbullying: Any negative comments, texts, emails, videos etc. that involve discrimination or bringing down another person. If you are being cyberbullied, don’t respond, instead block that person and tell a trusted adult that can sort it out.

● Verbal: Negative comments, insults, namecalling, teasing etc.

● Physical: Someone hurting another persontripping, pushing, fighting etc.

● Social: Starting rumours, mean jokes, things that hurt your reputation or stop you from fitting in with others. Whatever the situation is, if you are being bullied or see another person being bullied, don’t wait for more to come. Report it immediately.

If you are standing there and watching someone being bullied, then that means you are a bystander. A bystander is just as bad as a bully. You have to stop the bully.

But what can you do to stop bullying?

Don’t react - they want a reaction out of you. Walk away from the situation.

Next, tell somebody. If you are a bystander, this goes for you, too. Tell a teacher or trusted adult about the situation.

Some people have told me that they can’t tell an adult because they are going to be bullied more. You can not ignore bullying. You have to tell someone.

If you have told someone about the situation, yet the situation is still happening, tell someone else again and again until something happens.