At the middle school, we counselors are commonly asked to assist students with problems of name-calling, and occasionally with incidents of harassment or bullying.  Name-calling usually takes the form of being made fun of or being called a derogatory name referring to physical characteristics ("whale" ) or perceived ability ("stupid"). Often this verbal harassment occurs out of sight or earshot of adults and might continue until the victim is upset or frustrated enough to tell someone. Adolescents are more likely, than elementary children, to try to handle this kind of situation on their own, in order to save face.  Sometimes this does work and the experience can be a normal rite of passage through adolescence. However, when the comments are one-sided and clearly distressing to a child, he/she really does need to seek help from an adult.
     If your child is experiencing any of these problems, please encourage him/her to make use of the Confidential Counselor link, or visit personally with a counselor