Harrow Youth Council

Bullying Hurt Me

My name is Hannah. I am very small for my age. When I started my school people didn't really notice it and didn't take much notice of it. I always hated being small and my mum was worried I would start getting bullied. She told me this and told me ways she was bullied because she had red hair and was always called carrot.

When I started middle school, my peers took more notice. One day I went to school and one of the boys decided he should call me midget for a joke, and four eyes, because I used to wear glasses.

My so-called friends

Eventually nearly everybody was calling me four-eyed midget and other worse names, which I will not repeat. I couldn't stand it. Then my so-called friends were not playing with me at break times because they didn't want to be called names either.

This made me feel as if I had no one who cared about me and that I was just a person who people could yell names at. I was petrified that it would end up as physical as well as verbal bullying.

Answering back

After school one day, I was just about to walk out of the playground when a boy came up to me obviously very angry and said to me "you are small and weak and a very ugly four-eyed alien." He then started saying many swearwords to me about me and bad things about my family. I couldn't stand it.

I told him to leave me alone and that I wasn't what he said and how dare he say stuff about my family in that way. This was the wrong thing to do. He then said how dare I back chat to him. Then he started running after me saying he would throw me against the wall.

Not many people were around then and all the teachers were in school. I am not a very fast runner and I went to run into the school but before I got there he caught me and flung me against the wall and ran off. To my surprise I was ok apart from a cut to my head, a twisted ankle and a sprain to the wrist.

I learnt to ignore them

I told my mum after she said she thought she knew what was going on. Before then I was frightened to tell her. After that I begged my mum not to tell anyone and after hours, she said she wouldn't. I taught myself a rhyme to help me ignore the bullies. It just helped me. It goes:

“When I started school I wasn't very tall the teasing was quite bad and often made me sad now I've learnt to see the positive in me and bullies cannot call my spirit very small.”

This helped me because it made me feel as if I could get through it. Now I am 13 and am in high school and most of the bullying has stopped. I don't wear glasses anymore but I am still small. Only one boy now teases me, hits me, pushes me and takes away my things. I found that if I ignored him, then he stops. He only teases me now and I don't really care as my friends stick up for me and I have overcome it.

Tell someone about it

From a person who has been bullied I think you need to tell an adult about it. If you are bullied in any form, they will always be able to help. Just ignore the bully if it is verbal, they are just doing for the reaction.

Take advice from your friends. If all else fails seek help from specialists. Childline can help.

By Hannah, age 13

Find out more

Read more about bullying in the Young London Issue Zone and find links to websites to help you deal with bullying. You can also find out about the Mayor's Bully Watch campaign.

Read what children from the Fairbridge project had to say about bullying.

Call Childline on 0800 1111 (calls are free and won't show up on the bill) or visit their website.

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		Harrow Youth Council Bullying Hurt Me My name is Hannah. I am very small for my age. When I started my school people didn't really notice it and didn't take much notice of it. I always hated being small and my mum was worried I would start getting bullied. She told me this and told me ways she was bullied because she had red hair and was always called carrot. When I started middle school, my peers took more notice. One day I went to school and one of the boys decided he should call me midget for a joke, and four eyes, because I used to wear glasses. My so-called friends Eventually nearly everybody was calling me four-eyed midget and other worse names, which I will not repeat. I couldn't stand it. Then my so-called friends were not playing with me at break times because they didn't want to be called names either. This made me feel as if I had no one who cared about me and that I was just a person who people could yell names at. I was petrified that it would end up as physical as well as verbal bullying. Answering back After school one day, I was just about to walk out of the playground when a boy came up to me obviously very angry and said to me "you are small and weak and a very ugly four-eyed alien." He then started saying many swearwords to me about me and bad things about my family. I couldn't stand it. I told him to leave me alone and that I wasn't what he said and how dare he say stuff about my family in that way. This was the wrong thing to do. He then said how dare I back chat to him. Then he started running after me saying he would throw me against the wall. Not many people were around then and all the teachers were in school. I am not a very fast runner and I went to run into the school but before I got there he caught me and flung me against the wall and ran off. To my surprise I was ok apart from a cut to my head, a twisted ankle and a sprain to the wrist. I learnt to ignore them I told my mum after she said she thought she knew what was going on. Before then I was frightened to tell her. After that I begged my mum not to tell anyone and after hours, she said she wouldn't. I taught myself a rhyme to help me ignore the bullies. It just helped me. It goes: “When I started school I wasn't very tall the teasing was quite bad and often made me sad now I've learnt to see the positive in me and bullies cannot call my spirit very small.” This helped me because it made me feel as if I could get through it. Now I am 13 and am in high school and most of the bullying has stopped. I don't wear glasses anymore but I am still small. Only one boy now teases me, hits me, pushes me and takes away my things. I found that if I ignored him, then he stops. He only teases me now and I don't really care as my friends stick up for me and I have overcome it. Tell someone about it From a person who has been bullied I think you need to tell an adult about it. If you are bullied in any form, they will always be able to help. Just ignore the bully if it is verbal, they are just doing for the reaction. Take advice from your friends. If all else fails seek help from specialists. Childline can help. By Hannah, age 13 Find out more Read more about bullying in the Young London Issue Zone and find links to websites to help you deal with bullying. You can also find out about the Mayor's Bully Watch campaign. Read what children from the Fairbridge project had to say about bullying. Call Childline on 0800 1111 (calls are free and won't show up on the bill) or visit their website. Go to top of page		Get more info Childline Related stuff Bullying Bully Watch