If your school has an antiviolence program, you might want to become involved in it. If not, maybe you'd like to start one.

Finally, if your friend is being bullied, see if you can get him to talk to you about it. Then, maybe you can help your friend boost his self-confidence so he can react in a healthy, nonviolent way to the bullying. Try taking a stand by refusing to put up with bullies if you see them in action. If you hear someone taunting a classmate, for example, speak up and point out that this is no way to treat another person. You might be saving someone a lot of pain.

Have you successfully stood up to a bully - or helped a friend stand up to one? Have you put a stop to your own bullying ways? If so, we want to hear from you! Share your tip with other teens by writing to us at teens@kidshealth.org.

Reviewed by: Steve Dowshen, MD, and Jennifer Shroff Pendley, PhD
Date reviewed: March 2001