Teen Girls and Bullying: Spreading Awareness
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Bullying is a common problem among teenage girls. Most of us have probably even been bullied ourselves at one time or another. But what is bullying, and how do we stop it from happening? As a nineteen year old recently out of high school I have a few firsthand experiences dealing with these issues.
What is Bullying?
"Bullying and being picked on comes in so many different forms."
-Lady Gaga
There are many different types of bullying. More often than not, teenage girls tend to attack each other with verbal abuse; such as insults and malicious rumors. Though these types of abuse may seem harmless, it can cause just as much distress in a teenage girl's life as, say, the type of vicious physical attacks we so often see in young men. Not to mention, verbal abuse is so much more common.
What to Do If I'm Being Bullied?
I know it sounds cliche but my advice for teenage girls would be to first try to ignore your bullies. Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing you hurt, instead, try to give the complete opposite reaction. If a bully believes their attempts have gone unnoticed, they will be more likely to give up using you as a target. If that doesn't work, you may have to take it a step further. Don't be afraid to confide in an authority figure. Odds are, they will be more capable of helping you deal with these problems, then you would be on your own!
What to Do If My Child is Being Bullied?
I may not be a parent, but as a teen who's experienced lots of bullying, I would suggest that parents not be hesitant to get involved. Your teen might not want your help, but they will most likely need it. It's not very often that young girls can solve these problems on their own. You can help your child by visiting some of the following sites:
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@kerlynb Thanks for your awesome comment! I had a lot of issues in middle school with girls that would talk about me behind my back and such. The best thing I ever did was seek guidance in my parents. They made sure the bullying wasn't taken too far!
Amen to this but the problem why most of us never wanted to tell a parent or an authoritative figure is because they usually make things worse for us =(
I remembered as a teenager when I got beaten up in college, by right, the bully should've been expelled because it was her fourth time doing so but because her parents are really rich, I guess an under the table bribe took place and she was off the hook again.
So who got the bullshit?
Me.
They turned the tables around and I got the blame instead, even my parents (who never ever believed a word I say in my whole entire life) went against me. My best friends and me were totally upset that this happened because they were my witnessed and they tried to break the fight up.
In elementary school and all, my parents wouldn't believe a single thing that happened so I spent the whole of my teenage and child hood life learning how to defend myself with my fists or shoot back verbally because I was so tired of being kicked around. =)
I was also denied of a psychiatrist when my depression got really bad and I got suicidal as a kid because my parents said that it was not necessary and I was making it up.
Thinking about it, I really hated my parents because they were so narrow minded but I suppose they've never experienced being bullied in their little private school life so that's why they refused to believe that I've been having a difficult time coping with bullies AND bias teachers. XD
I grew up being really vulgar and suspicious of a lot of people and it took time (and a lot of help from my husband) before I could actually go out and find work. =)
Ah sorry for talking your ear off. ;)
I wish ending a bullying session would be as easy as telling a grown up about it.....:)
kerlynb Level 7 Commenter 7 months ago
"Your teen might not want your help, but they will most likely need it." - Can't agree more. Intervention may not be welcomed by kids who are being bullied but would make those who bully aware that people are keeping an eye on them and would make them fully responsible for any nasty things that they do. Intervention can make bullies fear a little and somehow stop. It is also very important to make kids aware that it is absolutely OK to report bullies and that it should be their first course of action when kids ridicule them. Parents, teachers, and school admin staff should tell this to kids like ALL the time, not once in a while. Thanks for this useful hub Rachel :)