Internet: Teasing and Bullying

by Judith Maginnis Kuster

Most people are teased about their "differences." Bright kids are teased about being "teacher's pet" or "curve-pushers." Kids with glasses are sometimes called "Four Eyes." Physical differences often bring out teasing, with names like "Bean Pole," "Shrimp," or "Fatty." Most of us remember being teased -- and that the teasing hurt.

According to Scholastic, "Teasing becomes bullying when it is repetitive or when there is a conscious intent to hurt another child. It can be verbal (making threats, name-calling), psychological (excluding children, spreading rumors), or physical (hitting, pushing, taking a child's possessions)." (www.scholastic.com/resources/article/bullying) The children in a speech-language clinician's caseload often endure teasing and bullying. Nine years ago, this column dealt with the issue of teasing ("Jeers and Tears: Teasing and Communication Disorders," Aug. 6, 2002). (www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster4/part43.html)

Unfortunately, teasing and bullying have not stopped, and perhaps have become even more serious (see "Child Hurt: 6th-Grader Rushed to the Hospital" www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=14084140). Although several resources cited in my earlier column have disappeared, those still online are worth reviewing, and additional Internet resources are now available to help reduce teasing and bullying and to give clients ideas for dealing with them.

Identification

To deal with teasing and bullying, one must first know that it is happening. Connie Dugan created a "Teasing Inventory" (www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster2/therapy/teasinginventory.html) that can be used weekly to provide a quick insight into what is happening in a child's life. A more extensive survey [PDF] by Judy Freedman also is available (www.easingtheteasing.com/images/teasingsurvey.pdf).

Helping Children Deal With Teasing and Bullying

• "Trouble at Recess" [PDF] (www.stutteringhelp.org/Portals/English/book0034.pdf) is a free downloadable book from the Stuttering Foundation about being teased.
• "Just for Kids" lists children's responses to how they have been teased, how they feel when being teased, and what they can do when they are teasedÑand invites children to submit their own responses (www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/kids/kids.html#teasing).
• Pacer's "Kids Against Bullying" (www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/) has activities, stories, contests, videos, "kids say," and more. Pacer also produced another "Bullying Activity" still available on the Web archive (http://web.archive.org/web/20070304102747/http://www.bullying411.com/gamesFun/images/Fortune+Teller.gif).
• "Out on a Limb: A Guide to Getting Along" (http://urbanext.illinois.edu/conflict/intromovie.html) provides three alternative responses to teasing and their consequences.
• BrainPOP Jr. has a movie on bullying. "Bullying" (www.brainpopjr.com/health/relationships/bullying/) presents two online stories with discussions of choices to make when dealing with bullies and outcomes of those choices.
• "Stop Bullying" offers a collection of YouTube videos on Phaena's channel (www.youtube.com/user/phaena#g/c/F8451F78E8BDEB86).
• "An Interview With Caroline: You Can Do Something About Teasing!" by Lynne Shields & Caroline L., provides information from one first-grader about how she handled being teased (www.mnsu.edu/comdis/isad5/papers/shields/shields2.html).
• "Easing the Teasing" by Judy Freedman offers several strategies to feel empowered and reduce feelings of helplessness (www.easingtheteasing.com/strategies.html).
• "Sticks and Stones" (www.lehman.cuny.edu/faculty/jfleitas/bandaides/tease.html) by Joan Fleitas offers many resources.
• How to Stop Being Teased and Bullied Without Really Trying by Izzy Kalman is a 44-page manual for junior and senior high school students.
• "It's My Life" offers online games about bullying and teasing for middle-school students: Beat the Bully (http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/bullies_flash.html) and Story Strips (http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/story_strips_flash.html).

Information for Adults

• "Helping Children Deal With Teasing and Bullying: For Parents, Teachers, and Other Adults" by Marilyn Langevin (www.stutterisa.org/CDRomProject/teasing/tease_bully.html).
• "The Bullying Epidemic: How Speech-Language Pathologists are Positioned to Restore Balance" by Gordon Blood (www.hhdev.psu.edu/news/2011/bullying.html).
• "Childhood Bullying: Are Adults the Problem?" by Stuart Green (http://njcts.org/wordpress/webinars/childhood-bullying-are-adults-the-problem/) free webinar and slides.
• "Beat Bullying,"a handout in English (www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/280_Bullying.pdf) or Spanish (www.superduperinc.com/handouts/pdf/280_Spanish.pdf).
• The Educator's Avenue at "Don't Laugh at Me" (www.dontlaugh.org/), part of the Operation Respect project, provides information to order a free curriculum guide, CD, video, and pre- and post-implementation questionnaires for schools (grades 2-5 or 6-8) and summer camps.
• "Building a Classroom Community and Bully-Free Zone" (http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/parents/lesson_plans/bullies_classroom_community.html) has lesson plans for grades 3-7.

Bullying in Cyberspace

Finally, the "dark side" of the Internet includes a phenomenon that is unknown to most adults - cyberbullying. It is estimated that a third of the teens online (ages 12-17) have experienced bullying via Internet technology. NetSmartz, a program of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, offers excellent information about cyberbullying (www.netsmartz.org/Cyberbullying_.

cite as: Kuster, J. M. (2011, June 7). Internet: Teasing and Bullying. The ASHA Leader.