Mental Health America of Porter County is joining in supporting National
Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.
Bullying is an aggressive behavior. A young person is targeted by one or
more youths with repeated negative actions such as name-calling, making
faces, obscene gesturing, malicious teasing, threats, rumors, hitting,
kicking, pushing, and choking to intentionally cause discomfort or injury.
Bullies, if not stopped, can progress to more serious, antisocial behavior.
Incidents of school violence show that bullying can have tragic consequences
for individuals, families, schools, and entire communities. Make no mistake,
bullying is a form of violence that must not be tolerated.
Take Steps to Stop It
Start early: Parent/child talks are critical. Teach kids to respect others
before they start school and continue to talk about this topic on an ongoing
Teach your children how to be assertive: Encourage your children to express
their feelings clearly, say no when they feel uncomfortable or pressured,
stand up for themselves without fighting, and walk away in dangerous
situations. Bullies are less likely to intimidate children who are confident
Stop bullying when you see it: Adults who remain silent when children are
bullying others give permission to the behavior and thereby encourage it.
Tell children to take action when they see bullying behavior: They should
speak out against the bully and inform a teacher if the behavior doesnít
stop. Bullying continues only when itís allowed to.
Communicate clear policies and consequences: Bullying is less likely in
schools where adults are involved and firm about stopping bullying
behaviors. Send out a clear message at schools that bullying will have
Team up: Work with the local PTA to make sure that schools treat bullying as
violence. Help develop programs to prevent bullying and promote safe school
Mental Health America of Porter County offers programs that can assist
individuals and families. Building Up Our Youth (BUOY) is dedicated to
teaching adults how to instill positive self-esteem and security in youth.
For more information about BUOY or our other services please contact
Christine Pirlot, Program Director at 462-6267 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Information about bullying is available at the following: Mental Health
America of Indiana, (317) 638-3501 and http://www.mentalhealthassociation.com
And, PACER, Toll Free: 888-248-0822, http://www.pacer.org/bullying;
KidsHealth for Parents: Bullying and Your Child
http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/bullies.html; National PTA:
Bullying, Tips for Parents.