How to deal with bullying

There are two types of bullies, verbal bullies, and physical bullies. Verbal bullies will worry you by calling you names about your size, colour, spectacles, braces etc.

Physical bullies will harass you by pinching you, punching you, pushing you etc.

I was bullied a lot when I was in school, verbally bullied, and teased about my surname, which is Popat! Boys would whistle at me, shout my name in all kinds of voices, and taunt me with my name, as it means Parrot.

I would be very embarrassed to go to school, as they would call out loudly in the corridors and even the playground. I would cry at home and not want to go to school.

My mother then taught me how to not allow anyone to make you feel bad about yourself or your name. She taught me to look at it positively, she said, "Think that they are calling out your name because you are famous! If you think they are teasing you then you will feel bad, so just tell yourself that they are chanting your name because it's a unique name."

I started doing that and ignoring the boys who would tease me and it actually worked. When the boys realized that their teasing was not having any impact on me, they stopped teasing me.

I learnt that bullies like to get attention and 'show off' that they are better than you. When you stop giving them the attention and when you start ignoring them they will then stop worrying you.

I was lucky that my verbal bullies stopped bullying me and did not indulge in physical bullying. When you face physical bullies there are 3 things to do-

1. Firmly ask the bully to stop touching you, or else you will report them to the authorities

2. If they don't back off, then take your parents or teachers help and then report them to the authorities in school

3. If they still bully you physically then your parents can report them to the police. Because physically hurting someone is a crime

Our partnership with Nickelodeon for their Together for Good campaign – Pressure ko bolo bye, has resulted into a detailed module around measures to take against bullying.

Toons are the biggest influencers for children. Through this initiative, our objective was to create a unique platform to sensitize teachers, parents and kids on the need to understand PRESSURE on a daily basis.

With Nickelodeon characters leading various social initiatives, Nicktoons were considered as role models who inspired kids to become change agents themselves.

However, we also recognized that having such engaging protagonists is essential to engage with children directly through on-ground outreach, keeping in mind that they would be more malleable to positive influence.

Additionally, it is also important to understand that most people get bullied but that does not mean that bullying is right or should be accepted. Don't become a bully and don't accept bullying from anyone.

Bullies are not brave or strong people because if they were then they would not be teasing or hurting anyone. So don't be afraid to report bullies.

(The author is President, Early Childhood Association)