Bullying Calls Reach Record Levels

[Talon]

RECORD BULLYING CALLS

Calls to ChildLine from youngsters worried about bullying have risen by the highest level in the charity's 18-year history.

More than 31,000 children and young people spoke to a ChildLine counsellor about bullying in the 12 months up to March this year, compared with just over 21,000 in the previous year.

Bullying is the single biggest reason why youngsters contact the charity - accounting for one-in-four calls to the free, 24-hour helpline.

The figures have been revealed to coincide with a major fundraising push to enable more children to speak to a ChildLine counsellor.

Around 2,300 children every day speak to one of the charity's trained volunteers about whatever is concerning them.

The enormous demand means that hundreds more youngsters each day are unable to get through and hear a message asking them to call again later.

The new ChildLine Foundation, aims to raise £1m in its first year to pay for the training and call costs to allow all the children who call the 0800 1111 helpline to speak to a counsellor.

Dianne Thompson, chief executive of National Lottery operator Camelot, said: "For children to acknowledge that they need help for whatever reason is a very brave step.

"To make that call to ChildLine takes huge courage.

"Everyone I've spoken to since agreeing to take on this project has either experienced bullying or knows someone who has been a victim of bullying."

Link

Its cause we're to soft on the little ******. In Scotland they now send bullies to BUS, the idea being if you take them out of classes and put them in a room were they get to play games, they'll calm down enough to be returned to class. NEWSFLASH! Only encourages them.

In my society I'd hire former army drill instructors to shout down the little sh*ts until they burst into tears in BUS, then have the entire school boo them at Friday morning assembly.

Lets see how they quick they are to hurt others after that humilation.

[AztecInca]

I agree with you wholeheartedly Talon!!! We need to kick these bullies A**** and make them afraid to ever bully another person. Bullies are the scum of the human race and deserve to be given hell!!!

Lets join forces and eliminate the bullies from society!!!

[Novo]

thats the most retarded ****ing thing I have ever heard talon.

[reese2]

Sadly, I feel this comes back to the parents' responsibilty. It starts and ends AT HOME. Children are by-products of their enviroments. People should pay more attention to their children, what they are doing, and not leave it to school, when they are there. They should be diligent on both fronts...

I hate bullying.

Reese

[wunarmdscissor]

I agree with you totally reese.

To be honest ive never been bullied.

i was never a bully per se myself but i have to admit i did make fun of people when in a group an stuff like that , you kno the usual popularity contest crap.

But i would never have outright made someones life a misery because i was brought to never treat another person that way.

most bullys in this country or in the school i went to either came from dysfunctional families or sociall and economically deprived area.

I think that that whilst the parents should take the brunt of the blame society also has some balme too.

[reese2]

I agree Wun... It comes from everything.. Although society can be very cruel, it is the job, ultimately, for the parents to protect and prevent their children from being introduced to that which would teach them to live this way.. So, in the end, it is only the parents that can be blamed. If they do not have the time, then it is up to them to cut their bills in half, live less in a way that keeps them away from home, and live modestly to make sure their children are doing well.

I was never bullied. I have never been a bully. Back when I was in school, we had the cliques, but on the weekends, we had huge bonfire parties, where everyone was invited. So, there were hardly ever any fights, and although you might not be friends with every crowd, you were still at the same parties...

Reese

Edited August 25, 2004 by reese2

[Subtemperate]

As someone who was heavily bullied... I agree with Reese and Wun..... The guys that picked on me.... Everyone of them had major issues at home, which ranged from being beaten by an alcoholic father..... To watching their mother overdose.....

Most bullies are crying out for help..... Putting more stress on them in particular wont help the problems, it will just create more....

[BurnSide]

I don't know about this. How do they know it's bullying thats on the rise, and not children calling in about being bullied? ChildHotlines haven't been around for very long, and until recently not all children had access to one, or would even think about calling one when getting bullied.

I'm not saying bullying is not a terrible thing, i'd like to shoot all bullies in the kneecaps, but it's a hard statistic to take.

[Dancing_Dumplings]

some bullies may have issues at home...but that still doesnt give them the right to pick on other people. you'd think that the bullies would grow outta it as they got older....sure maybe some do...but a lot dont...which is the sad thing.

ever since i was 10 i was picked on bout my short hair and my anti-dresswearing. but i was never beaten up. but i think being picked on over and over has the same affect as if someone punched u in the face.

girls sayin that the boys room is down the hall, old ladies sayin that this isnt the mens room...other kids at school wondering why i dont act like a proper lady and wear dresses...the list goes on and on...

but after awhile...it doesnt matter what they say anymore...lol they can bring it on! i dont care wha they say. but what really irritates me is the little 5 y/o kids...i mean come on people!! educate ur children!

once i told off this kids mom cuz he was 13 and he still thought girl should be the stereotypical type...she wasnt too happy bout a 15 w/o kid tellin her to p*** off and raise her child in the 21st century.

i was on london this summer and i was taking a tour of the jack the ripper murders..and a bunch of guys/boys/men (if you can call them that) were walking down the street. they said nice hair dude. i said thanks! but once they heard my "girl voice"

they said your a girl?!!?!? and of course they thought i was a dude w/ the short hair and all. then they said wear a dress girlie! soooo i said...at the top of my lungs...

"dont talk trash bout my hair dude...do it again and ill rip ur thing off and glue it to your head!!!" HAHA that made em shut up!!

i know bad bad, that hurts...but they deserved it being ignorant as they were.

now people just think im a freaky weirdo....lol which is exactly what i am...why thank you for the compliment!

~~~~~

now these hotlines...what exactly do the people tell the kids to do? just say leave me alone? or say go away? or say try and aviod them? the person who is bullied isnt very likely to tell the bully off. they would get in more trouble then they already where. sure you could tell a teacher or a parent...and it might get the bully in trouble for a few days...but after that they are back to picking on people....

Boot camp for bullies....make the bullies feel the same amount of pain that they had inflicted on to the other poor kid.

Edited August 25, 2004 by Anti_girl17

[Talon]

thats the most retarded ****ing thing I have ever heard talon.

You know, instead or swearing and calling my idea redarded, you could try and act more mature, and just offer an alternative idea how to deal with the scum.

[BurnSide]

He's a 14yr old anarchist, you're asking the impossible there Talon.

[Talon]

i see I'll keep note of that

[Fluffybunny]

thats the most retarded ****ing thing I have ever heard talon.

You know, instead or swearing and calling my idea redarded, you could try and act more mature, and just offer an alternative idea how to deal with the scum.

When I first read S&A's post I made the assumption that he was referring to the article, not your post at the end.

I could be wrong though. I guess S&A will have to clear it up. He doesn't appear to be the bullying type, but I guess you never know.

As for the bullies, it is horrible. It always has been and probably always will be. I was lucky in that when I was a freshman in High School I was already six foot tall and 220 pounds. Strong as an ox...it was great.

I always stuck up for the little guy. It seems to me that bullies always seem to go for the smallest kids that have no change in a fair fight.

I loved being able to step in and backup the smaller kids when some jackarse would pick on somebody. There is nothing better than the irony of embarrasing a bully who is picking on some little kid...It is so easy to do as most of them would never even fight back...

[seventh_son]

In my oppinion bullies are the scum of the earth. But since all matters begin in the home, i say hold the parents responsible. Let the mom/dad spend a few days at the mall holding a sign that reads; "I am the parent of an out of controll bully"

See how long the bullying continues!

[reese2]

What a great idea, Seventh................ I think ALL parents should be held more accountable for that which they do/don't do for their children... There inlies the problems.

[Novo]

thats the most retarded ****ing thing I have ever heard talon.

You know, instead or swearing and calling my idea redarded, you could try and act more mature, and just offer an alternative idea how to deal with the scum.

I didnt call your idea retarded talon.. I was referring to the way they punish scottish children in public schools.

[Guest]

In my oppinion bullies are the scum of the earth. But since all matters begin in the home, i say hold the parents responsible. Let the mom/dad spend a few days at the mall holding a sign that reads; "I am the parent of an out of controll bully"

See how long the bullying continues!

See, that would be a good idea if the bullies parents were just workaholics and didn't pay attention to their kid.

But you don't want to do this to the parent of a bully who beats him all the time. It'd make it so much worse.

[Novo]

He's a 14yr old anarchist, you're asking the impossible there Talon.

HEY! you hurt my feelings.. whats that number again?

now for the rest of you guys...

I was bullied since I was in 3rd grade, I was fat short deaf and blind. I spent 3 years in the city and learned a fair bit about self defense, and when I returned home I put it into use. you would be amazed at the amount of rascism,homophobia and sexism in the local schools. I get my ass kicked because I wear shirts saying stuff like "an eye for an eye will only result in a blind world" and some morons think that means I want them to try to put my eyes out, regardless 3 more years and im out of here. while the majority of these *******s will end up in jail beating there wives or alcoholics, I'll do something with my life. right now its between P.E.T.A or the peace core..

[Fluffybunny]

I was bullied since I was in 3rd grade, I was fat short deaf and blind.

I am really sorry to hear about that S&A, that sounds horrible.

Too bad you are so young...otherwise I would have had your back...you wouldn't have had to of worried about getting bullied in my school...

The only thing I can offer you is that you are young and a smart young man who will do just fine in life...The folks that bullied you will go through life with the same chip on their should that they have now and will ultimately go nowhere and amount to much more than the bully that they are now...I watched the asses in my school that tortured people all through school get out of high school and just fail miserably in life. It is really simple, You HAVE to go to school; you don't have a choice in the matter, so good kids get put in the same school as the bad kids do.

However when school is over and it comes down to getting a job and making a living, the bullies I saw couldn't do it. Too much of a chip on their shoulders to be able to get along in the real world so they ended up not being employable for very long. It was such a small percentage of the bullies that I dealt with on a regular basis that ever actually dealt with the problems that they had to become productive people in society; many just went on to be bullies in jail.

The best revenge is living well; remember that I told you that... The next time you get hassled just think forward half a dozen years to that poor kid trying to scrape by in a world that he once thought he could push his way around to get what he wanted.

[Talon]

didnt call your idea retarded talon.. I was referring to the way they punish scottish children in public schools.

Good good, we can unite in how stupid it is. Even the teachers hate it, my dad is a biology teacher and he says the majority of the teachers want the cane back, not this stupid system. Europe has gone mad.

I was bullied since I was in 3rd grade, I was fat short deaf and blind. I spent 3 years in the city and learned a fair bit about self defense, and when I returned home I put it into use.

I was bullied since since I was 5 to when I was 15 because I was shy and didn't like talking. Then I turned 16, my personality became erractic and my shoukders became broad and my muscles swelled up. Then I stated knocking the crap out of bullies, plus I allied myself with 'Big Davie', a lunatic who had to move schools before because he was bullied, but when he came to Paisley he took a whole new direction, head butting faces and noses of anyone who so much as looked at him or our group the wrong way, he was so unstable he even head butted holes in walls so test if they were hollow.

And because of that, my last year in school was the only one where I didn't get bullied

Now, if we brought back the cat-o-9-tails or had drill seargents shout down the little b*stards I and others like me woulnd't have had to put up with the other 11 years of torture.

[Novo]

no one messes with me anymore guys, a few do but not enough to bother me. All of them are shorter fatter and weaker than me now, they seem to think they can get preps for trying to fight someone who is opposed to violence.

[Xenojjin]

The best revenge is living well;

wasn't it moe who first said that ? Anyway its a gem . Im living pretty well so far ( graduated about 2.5 months ago ) , I am first taking a year long break and working at gamestop ...not really a break but a break from my education at least... then its college in Arizona for me .

grin2.gif Good good, we can unite in how stupid it is. Even the teachers hate it, my dad is a biology teacher and he says the majority of the teachers want the cane back, not this stupid system. Europe has gone mad. crying.gif

Its no better here ...

Teenage girls getting expelled for bringing toenail clippers to school .

Young men getting suspended for fighting back against bullies who walk away free .

Its almost as if stupidity is a job requirement to be a public school administrator .

CA state Public education administration employee apllication

Please state your officially tested IQ test scores ___________

NOTE : maximum IQ of 90 is permitted . If your IQ is any higher then that please go find a real job .

Edited August 26, 2004 by Xenojjin

[Permakid]

Having dedicated most of my adult life to working with children - and especially children with emotional handicaps and behavior disorders, it shocks and saddens me to hear people on this board call them things like "little b*******" and "scum". Come on people, we're talking about kids here!!!

I have seen the effects bullies can have on their targets. And my heart goes out to people like S&A who have been victims of it because the emotional scars can sometimes last a lifetime (but they don't have to ). However, as adults, we also have a responsibility to take care of the kids doing the bullying. Those kids are hurting as well, but for other reasons. Many bullies come from horrific home environments that most people would not care to think about - I know because I've seen it first hand.

Kids who bully others are acting out negative emotions created by their environments. They usually haven't learned better ways to deal with how they feel. For many of these kids, their only sense of self-worth comes from being the tough guy who can push others around. The answer is not to scream and humiliate them. That approach will only compound the problem. As educators, parents, neighbors, concerned adults, or whatever - our role is to help these kids learn how to respect themselves and others. We can do that by imposing real, immediate, and relevant consequences for negative behaviour. We can also spend time listening, explaining other perspectives, and asking provacative questions in order to help provide the skills necessary for handling all kinds of situations.

Edited August 26, 2004 by Permakid

[Talon]

I disagree, I don't give a stuff about what reason they have and this 'they're the victimes too' defense Europe loves to throw our way. I fail to see who that justifies standing back and allowing them to put other children through hell. These little sh*tes should just be thankful I'm not executing them, and I only hold that off because I am aware that as children they may one day grow up and start doing something functional with that life they have rather than wasting everyone's time.

Edited August 26, 2004 by Talon S.

[Xenojjin]

I'll agree with Talon on disagreeing with you permakid . My life background has its issues , my father cheated on my mother when I was two with a blonde bimbo simply because she was prettier then my mother ( Who is a very kind women . ) My mother ended up eventually finding out but neither my dod or my now Step-mom give a **** . I ended up living with my mom for a while who had to work at a rest home and barely skim by on the wages , and switching to my dads home every other week .

I wont get into further details into my personal life ( but I will say that things eventually started to get better ) but the point is that everybody has their problems . Its how you deal with them . Just because your life hasnt been exactly perfect doesnt mean Bullies are justified for acting like retarded jack@$$es . Its no excuse , not in the slightest . >_>