No Name-Calling Week: Has a Child in Your Care Been Bullied?

This week is No Name-Calling Week.  No Name-Calling Week is a week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communitie based on the book The Misfits by James Howe.

Each and every person has the right to feel safe in their lives and good about themselves. So, pbskids.org It’s My Life web site put together a guide to share the basics of dealing with bullies.

The different types of bullying are:

1. Physical bullying means:
• Hitting, kicking, or pushing someone, or even just threatening to do it,
• Stealing, hiding or ruining someone's things,
• Making someone do things he doesn’t want to do.

2. Verbal bullying means:
• Name-calling,
• Teasing,
• Insulting.

3. Relationship bullying means:•
• Refusing to talk to someone,
• Spreading lies or rumors about someone,
• Making someone feel left out or rejected.

The reason why one kid would want to bully another kid is that when someone makes another person feel bad, they gain power over him. Power makes people feel like they're better than another person, and then that makes them feel really good about himself. Power also makes the bully stand out from the crowd. It's a way to get attention.

There is much more to share about bullies, why children bully, and how to cope with bullies tomorrow. Has a child in your care ever been bullied?