You Can't Bully Me

Table of Contents

5 Introduction for kids
15 Introduction for parents and adults
19 Chapter 1 - We Are Bullied Every Day
23 Chapter 2 - Who Is The Bully?
29 Chapter 3 - What Do You Think Is Wrong About You?
39 Chapter 4 - What Do You Think Is Right About You?
57 Chapter 5 - What Are You Afraid Of?
63 Chapter 6 – Confidence
69 Chapter 7 - What Can You Do To Honor Yourself?
73 Chapter 8 - Intention
77 Chapter 9 - Friendship
81 Chapter 10 - Who Are You Better Than?
83 Chapter 11 - Meditation
87 Chapter 12 - Afterwards
91 Notes

Introduction For Kids

You Can’t Bully Me was written about you and for you. With the help of this book, you will make friends with yourself, accept who you are, and live a happier life.

My goal is to help you become more confident. Not so simple all the time, but look around at the kids in your class who aren’t bullied. There’s something about them and how they feel about themselves that discourages the bully. What do you think?

I promise that you will feel better before you get to the last page. If there are difficult vocabulary words, please take some time to sit with someone who can talk with you about what the words really mean and how you can grow into them.

In “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy and her friends go in search of the Wizard because they believe he will give them brains, a heart, courage and a way home. By the time they escape the Wicked Witch and go back to the Wizard with the broom, the Wizard points out that they already possessed these attributes, only they didn’t realize it. In Dorothy’s case, the Good Witch tells her that she had the power all along but had to find it out on her own. This is what we are going to do: you have the brains, heart, courage and power to make your way; you just need to believe it and believe in yourself.  

In many of the movies you know, the main character has a problem of some kind. The songs that become famous are all pep talks: let it go, be brave, sing when you are afraid, you can do it.

When things are hard for you, you absolutely must find a way to remember that things will get better and work towards that goal.

Who taught you how to walk? You taught yourself. Something across the room got your interest and as soon as you were aware that you could move your body to get to it, off you went. Do you remember all the times you fell down? Of course not. You didn’t understand language yet, so no one could teach you. This book will ‘teach’ you in the same way – reminding you what you already know about how great you are.

Bullying Story: When I was teaching fifth grade, a student in my class bullied some second grade girls every day at lunch by calling them ugly and stupid. They did the right thing by reporting it to their teacher, who told me about it. I called the girls into my classroom to write down their names; I wanted my student to write apology letters to each of them. Something made me ask them if they believed what the girl had said. Two said no, but two said yes. I asked them why they would believe the words of a mean girl. They didn’t know.

This book is for them and for you. How can the words of a mean person be more important than your own feelings about yourself? The bully doesn’t know you. The bully doesn’t care about you. You have to believe so much in yourself and the kind of person you are that no one’s words can hurt you. You Can’t Bully Me will help you learn about the most important person in your life – you!

When life knocks you down, roll over and look at the stars.

The bully in your life is probably making you feel miserable. We’re going to change that. By the time we are done, you will feel so good about yourself, I think the bully will get bored with you and will leave you alone. I believe that confidence and really knowing who you are will make you more interesting to the right people and the words of a bully won’t mean anything to you. The bully is not, nor will ever be, your friend. Let me say this again: The bully is not, nor will ever be, your friend. We will discuss this more a little later.

You don’t need anyone’s permission to feel good and love yourself.

If you make friends with yourself, you will never be alone. It is really hard to be by yourself, but sometimes it is the best place to be. Being alone gives you time to focus on your hobbies, listen to the music you like, read about things that interest you, help out family or neighbors, and learn things you don’t learn about in school.

The activities that follow are to be done one day at a time, but always one day after the other; please don’t try to race through. I would like you to think about each topic and write what is in your heart; there are no wrong answers