McGruff Offers Advice On Dealing With Bullies

Dear McGruff,

Somebody at school is bothering me. She doesn't pick on me but she hurts my feelings a lot every day badly.  Just today she said I could never see my best friend again. NEVER AGAIN. The interesting part is that she is younger than me. How do I deal with her? Can you help me?

McGruff's Response

It sounds like this girl might be a bully. The good news is that there are some things you can do to stop her from hurting your feelings.  Try talking to her, one on one. Say something like "I don't like it when you say that. It hurts my feelings." Talk to your best friend and other friends too. Tell them that you want to stay friends with them, or ask them if they will stick up for you. If this girl always says something mean in front of your friends, ask them to say that they don't like it when she's mean to you. They could say something like "That's not nice" or "I don't like it when you say things like that." Tell them that you don't want to start an argument so ask them to say this calmly. You could also try to stay away from her.