Your ideas count, so get thinking – we’re all in this together, and together we CAN stop bullying.

Helpbox

Read It…

• Wise Guides: Bullying by Michele Elliott (Hodder)
• Don’t Pick on Me by Rosemary Stones (Piccadilly)
• All About Bullying by Lesley Ely (Hodder)

Websites:

• www.childline.org.uk – sections on bullying, gangs
• www.textsomeone.com – report bullying and get support by text
• www.kidscape.org.uk/childrens/zap.html
• www.beatbullying.org
• www.bullybusters.org.uk

Helplines:

• ChildLine – 0800 1111
• Bullybusters – 0800 169 6928

Cathy’s Books… Published by Puffin

• Driftwood – how to help if a friend is being bullied…
• GingerSnaps – how it feels to be bullied and how to rebuild your confidence…

6. Confidence Tricks

This is probably the most important chapter in the book because if you don’t have confidence in yourself, you’re in big trouble! If you can’t be your own best friend, how can you expect other people to like you? If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you hope that others will?

Learning to like yourself, the good bits and the bad, is really important. Whether you want to make good friendships, have caring boyfriends, do well at school or follow your dreams and ambitions, you need self-esteem to do it! If you don’t believe in yourself, you’re more likely to give up when the going gets tough, telling yourself you ‘just weren’t good enough anyway’.

It’s time to ditch the negative thoughts and learn how to think positive, in six simple steps. And don’t be fooled by the title of this chapter… the tips that follow aren’t tricks, they are techniques that really work!

Step One…

Accept Yourself!

Dear Cathy

I hate myself – I’m just so ugly. I suppose you think I’m just feeling sorry for myself, but I’m serious. I want a life!

Kira, age 13

Cathy

My friends are cool, clever and pretty – I don’t know why they put up with me, really, because I’m none of those things. Even my mum says I should try to be more like my sisters… I know I’m a disappointment to her.

Sheridan, age 12

If you don’t like yourself, you will find it very hard to reach your potential or find happiness because every time life comes up with something good, you’ll find a way to mess it up. After all, you don’t deserve good things, do you? It’s kind of a vicious circle.

Kira and Sheridan need to see that they deserve friends, love, support and success just as much as anyone else. But first, they have to stop putting themselves down. Sheridan’s problem could stem from her mum’s comment – she needs to talk to her mum and clear the air. I’m pretty sure Sheridan’s mum loves and values her daughter for who she is, and has no idea how much that one thoughtless comment, comparing Sheridan to her sisters, has dented her confidence. Sometimes, though, the people who are supposed to love and support us don’t do such a great job of it, and that often leaves us struggling with low self-esteem.