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When a child is bullied, the effects go far beyond the short term hurt feelings of the child who is targeted. Bullying when it becomes prolonged and consistent can lead to long term emotional and physical damage to the victim as well as impact their family. One group of family members that can be overlooked are the siblings. Parents are often focused on getting the child help and have more tools at their disposal to be able to do so then the other children in the family. Parents can be their child's advocate. When bullying cases get extreme, it is the parents who step up and talk with the adults involved, whether it be parents of the aggressor, school officials or even the authorities. But what happens when you are a sibling who is made to sit on the sidelines and watch as it all plays out? In some cases, parents spend more time dealing with the issues of one child that the others may get overlooked. In other cases, like mine, the sibling is left on the sideline not able to do much but watch as it all seems to fall apart and wishing that they could help.

Now, I suppose I should begin by explaining how I'm different from most siblings in these scenarios. I am a 27 year old with my own family. My baby sister, *Alex, is anxiously awaiting her 13th birthday later this week. My sister has two best friends - a pair of twins, *Maria and *Colleen. Two of the three girls are victims of bullying. I have the privilege of knowing these girls personally. Maria is in the same boat I am. Sitting on the sideline watching not only her best friend suffer through the agony kids put her through everyday, but also her twin sister. After conversations with Maria, I realized that I'm not the only sibling struggling with the hurt of a loved one wishing I could do more to help. All the girls know they can lean on me for support, but collectively there is no action for the four of us to take.

Until now.

I plan on using my words to touch the hearts of others who are in our situation, whether they are victims themselves or a bystander.

Over the next few days, I plan on introducing you all to the girls one by one. Overtime as news hits the media on bullying tragedies (there are bound to be a few), I'll write my own reactions and summarize the girls thoughts, feelings, and most of all fears. I'll talk about my own personal experiences with bullying and how they are similar and different from what the girls are going through now. But most of all, I want to hear from people everywhere as to how they are coping themselves as the victim or how they are handling helping a loved one who is a casualty of this growing epidemic.

http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/