Related Articles

Most teenagers know that returning to school means dealing with hundreds of other teens. Unfortunately some students have to deal with inappropriate behavior such as teasing. Teasing is the act of harassing someone playfully or maliciously, especially by ridicule. Teasing is not just annoying, but can become hazardous.

"Easing the Teasing" by Judy S. Freedman has been found useful for helping adults and children deal with teasing. The book's focus is entirely on how parents can help their children deal with the problems that teasing can bring. We would recommend this book for parents of teenagers who are teased, since this book contains several specific strategies that are effective with teens. This article does not have enough space to cover the effective coping mechanisms Freedman describes. This article is instead intended to make it clear to parents that teasing is a real problem that schools need to deal with for their children's sake. Once this understanding is clear, parents and teens should be able to cooperate with personnel from the teens' school to ensure that teasing difficulties don't get out of hand.

Due to the differing sizes of elementary and secondary schools, it can generally be asserted that during the elementary school years there is more of a 'handle' on teasing than in secondary schools. That is certainly not to say that secondary schools are ignoring the problem. Home room teachers, other faculty, and police and law enforcement personnel can all help to emphasize the behavior that is required of students at secondary schools. Electronic systems are generally used to help schools keep track of severe misbehavior, and sometimes minor incidents as well. Many schools have meetings to discuss problems with students at each grade level- including grades, work habits, and behavioral problems. The main challenge in most secondary schools however, is that each teacher typically instructs over a hundred students daily so it's understandably difficult to monitor, document and discuss student behavior with colleagues on a consistent basis.

If their teenaged child's behavior changes or grades drop, parents should talk to their child's home room teacher and/or school counselor to discuss the problem. It is important to note that even if a student consistently earns good grades, all may not be going well for the young scholar; they may have other challenges at school. Teenagers don't usually want to admit that teasing is a problem, so parents should be aware that they are less obvious signs of difficulties caused by teasing. Teasing is usually annoying, and often worse... sometimes much worse. It is a form of bullying. Suicides occasionally result from prolonged teasing; more frequently, low self-esteem and depression can occur. Experiencing harassment in this form - whether it is done 'playfully' or maliciously, is clearly a serious problem that must be dealt with.