Why do popular kids bully

Docuseries chronicles Bay Area athletes' college recruiting journey. Climate Watch: How to be ready for CA weather, wildfire threats. Watch Now. Local News. Station Info. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Method 1. Get support from trusted adults. If you feel victimized and need help, don't hesitate to talk to a trusted adult for support.

Find a parent or parents, a guidance counselor or teacher, or anyone else who you trust. Ask them for advice and reassurance about your particular situation, or see if they can help mediate the situation.

Develop your own social circle. There is safety in numbers, and popular kids will be less likely to target you if you have a circle of your own. Schools usually offer lots of different kinds of clubs and extracurricular activities. Popular kids often use the internet to maintain their popularity by bullying others. Social media, text messages, and other platforms can take bullying from school and affect you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It can be very serious, even a crime, if someone sets up fake profile, spreads a vicious online rumor, or threatens violence. Department of Health and Human Services providing information related to identifying and preventing bullying Go to source. Laugh it off. They might pick on kids who get upset easily or who have trouble sticking up for themselves. Getting a big reaction out of someone can make bullies feel like they have the power they want. Sometimes bullies pick on someone who is smarter than they are or different from them in some way.

Sometimes bullies just pick on a kid for no reason at all. So now you know that bullying is a big problem that affects a lot of kids, but what do you do if someone is bullying you? Our advice falls into two categories: preventing a run-in with the bully, and what to do if you end up face-to-face with the bully. Don't give the bully a chance.

As much as you can, avoid the bully. You can't go into hiding or skip class, of course. But if you can take a different route and avoid the mean kid, do so.

Stand tall and be brave. When you're scared of another person, you're probably not feeling your bravest. But sometimes just acting brave is enough to stop a bully. How does a brave person look and act? Stand tall and you'll send the message: "Don't mess with me. See the next tip! Feel good about you. Nobody's perfect, but what can you do to look and feel your best?

Maybe you'd like to be more fit. If so, maybe you'll decide to get more exercise, watch less TV, and eat healthier snacks. Or maybe you feel you look best when you shower in the morning before school. If so, you could decide to get up a little earlier so you can be clean and refreshed for the school day. Get a buddy and be a buddy. Two is better than one if you're trying to avoid being bullied. Make a plan to walk with a friend or two on the way to school, recess, lunch, or wherever you think you might meet the bully.

But a new study suggests some mean kids actually behave that way simply because they can. Contrary to accepted ruffian-scholarship, the more popular a middle- or high-school kid becomes, the more central to the social network of the school, the more aggressive the behavior he or she engages in. At least, that was the case in North Carolina, where students from 19 middle and high schools were studied for 4. Authors Robert Faris and Diane Felmlee interviewed public-school kids seven times over the course of their study, starting when the students were in grades 6, 7 and 8.