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Your Voices on Bullying |
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"I wasn't teased constantly but I did get teased every now and then."
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"Every day!"
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"Bullied and pushed around all the time. The social stigma associated with it was awful!"
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"All the time. Children were especially cruel."
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"Once in awhile someone would make a weight-related comment but I wouldn't say teased. I was definitely self-conscious about it."
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"This was always hurtful, no matter how I tried to hide the hurt. I also remember adults telling my parents that their daughters were "healthy." What they actually meant was that we were fat. Even at an early age, I knew what they meant."
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"In school and around the neighborhood."
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"Yes, was teased especially from people that didn't even know me all."
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"No, I was never really teased by any kids. However, my parents always ridiculed me about my weight."
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"I was tortured on a daily basis all the way up and through college. It was a most miserable life."
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"I would get teased a lot by other sports teams because I was bigger than all the other players."
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"I had other children come right up to me and say 'you're fat.'"
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"Yes, by other girls."
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"Not too much, but occasionally and it really bothered me."
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"Yes, fatty fatty two by four jokes, fat and skinny had a race up and down my pillow case, fatty said it wasn't fair cause she lost her underwear. I always got the Valentines with the dancing hippos and whales, elephants in dresses, I was picked last for sports. Kids called me a fat slob, a pig. etc. It was terrible being fat as a child, horrible as a teen, people were cruel with their comments as well as looks they gave. It has taken a lot to deal with the memories, some still exist."
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"However, I used the tactic of finding a friend even heavier so I wasn't the heaviest."
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"As a child, yes, however, not when I got into high school."
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"OMG YES !!!! I was teased all through school. I remember in high school these really cute popular guys quacking when they saw me walking down the hall. I wanted to just crawl in a hole and cry. I feel so very sorry for overweight children of any age."
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"Even my siblings and father would make comments."
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"Mostly by family--brother always called me 'Tubby', Mom always compared me to my same-age skinny cousin. "
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"Always. Outwardly and sneaky as in 'You would be so pretty if you lost some weight'."
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"I remember in Jr. High School being teased about being pregnant - and that wasn't the case - at all."
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"Teased by my father."
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"Forced to go on a diet by my school."
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"My Dad had his way of making me not eat too much. He called me a "Hippo" throughout my childhood and I believed I was. I was looking over my school pictures to find out that I was very tiny. Funny how people can influence your thoughts."
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"Yes, at home and at school."
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"Every day just about. I would come home crying to my mom telling her what names I was called. She could never relate because she was very thin."
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"If I was teased I was not aware of it. I was teased more about having a huge chest - I had to start wearing a bra by age nine as I was heavily endowed and that also made me appear overweight at times."
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"Constantly teased. Kids in school and in the neighborhood had horrible nicknames for me....and they hurt."
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"I was teased about my weight in the 5-6 grades, being tall and was commonly called "Baby Huey", like one of the comics back then."
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"HORRIFICALLY. "
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"Still can't forget a lot of the stuff I went through. Sad thing is, I was pretty much normal. I remember being called "fat ass", "Michelin girl", "Big Mama", and a lot of other names. I also remember weigh-ins in 5th and 6th grade, where the teachers would whisper my weight to the person writing the numbers down. That person, usually a classmate, would tell everybody else after class was over. I was wearing a bra by 4th grade, and a girdle in 5th and 6th grades. I hit 100 pounds in the first grade."
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"Yes, but unfortunately it could've been much worse. I'm thankful for my athleticism and my sense of humor that helped."
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"I was teased by classmates which really hurt, but I was also teased by my slender siblings which, to be honest, hurt worse."
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"The first comment I remember was being called "Thunder Thighs" in Fourth Grade. I wasn't even 100 pounds, I just weighed more than the other kids. It was devastating."
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"Uncle called me 'Crisco.'"
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"All my life. Mostly as a young kid but there were also adults (who should have known better IMO) that were equally as cruel in their remarks. Comments like "Hey Slimjim you don't need that" - while other kids got candy or gum. As a child, you don't understand why you can't have what the rest have, you then feel rejected and different and it hurts and scars you for life. I remember being stuck in a corner on the playground with several kids yelling at me and telling me how fat I was. They did this almost daily. Odd thing is two of the girls were heavy themselves."
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"Worst teasing during teenage years by peers at school."
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"Just about every day."
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"I was constantly teased and not included in groups at school because of my weight."
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"I was teased. I have always had a large body frame, kind of wide hips too. I was teased relentlessly by a couple of boys about my "Lard Ass" (Excuse the French, but that is what they called me.)"
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"It was around my junior high age when I felt very different. That's when the locker room/ group shower scene struck terror in even thin girls so I was definitely traumatized. Though there were unkind remarks in my childhood, I internalized them and didn't allow myself to stay out of the popular activities and popular crowds. I tuned out the voices and beat them in track or did better than others in the dance team. I went on "silent" diets. They were painful yet still joyful times. If only I could have been guided by a caring individual or a group, and nurtured in overcoming the war I raged daily in my mind!"
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"I was called names. Got made fun of by family members."
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"My name is MaryJo... I can remember being called "Jumbo Jo" throughout my grammar school years. This set the tone for my breakdown of self-esteem and self-confidence which started the vicious circle of unhappiness and overeating."
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"Mostly by my brothers...hardly ever by friends or school mates (at least not in front of me!)."
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"I was teased about my weight all through school and by my sister who was thin. I've also heard adults and children make rude comments about me as an adult too."
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"Mostly by family members."
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"I was called pregnant at six. Boys used to run away afraid I would sit on them and crush them."
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"These were some of the most embarrassing and hurtful instances in my life."
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"I was teased so bad that my self-esteem went way down. I tried to diet and cut back on foods. I hate to exercise and my grandmother tried to cook as nutritious as she knew how. But sweets every Sunday after church and cookies sometimes throughout the week added the sugar cravings then and in my adulthood."
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"Yes, back when I was growing up, the saying was "Tubby tubby, two by four, couldn't get through the bathroom door, instead of crying, she ate even more". Can you imagine? How cruel?"
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"In elementary school, I was teased and bullied severely. Most of my early memories of childhood involve teasing about my weight. Sadly, I was also exposed to unkind comments about my weight from family members. Although that might not fall into the category of "teasing," I can assure you that it was just as (if not more) damaging."
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"I would be teased about jock itch."
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"I cried when called "fatty patty"....always the last to be chosen for games caused me to have a low opinion of myself. Felt left out and unloved a lot."
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"I can remember at age 13 that my mom commented my gut stuck out farther than my breasts!
I was lectured by parents mostly." |
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"More as a child than as a teen, but the teasing persisted throughout childhood."
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"Somewhat teased, but more made to feel (by my mother) like I was no good because I was overweight and loved food."
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"I had two sisters that were extremely thin and called me "fatso" all the time."
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"Not so much teased, but ridiculed by my family."
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"I was not teased often. I attribute this to keeping extremely quiet and trying not to draw attention to myself, but there were a few people that made jokes."
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"I was teased so much it is still painful when I see a child who is overweight, and I know what they must be going through."
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"Always teased...the fat girl with the pretty face...blah blah blah...porky, fatty fatty two by four..."
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"I lived through years of verbal and emotional abuse as a child/teen/adult."
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"I was teased from pre-school on. I hated school, would find any reason not to have to attend. My mother told me, "As long as your grades are good, I don't care if you miss a few days..." In high school, I got caught cutting. I had skipped over 30 days in one quarter. In tenth grade gym class, I was required to tell the teacher my weight. I refused even though it was the closest to a normal BMI that I had ever had. I was flunked, even though I was a superior student and did everything else asked of me."
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"Not really--just pressured by my mother and constantly reminded I wouldn't be able to get a boyfriend if I didn't lose weight. My father would mock my friends who were actually overweight and refer to them with derision when I was a teenager."
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"By other kids AND one of my teachers!!!"
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"Constantly."
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"I don't know if I was so much teased but I felt uncomfortable and out of place. I was always bigger then my friends...not obese but overweight. I put more of that pressure on myself."
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"Even my own mother called me names.. worse than the kids at school"
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"Daily!"
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"Not really teased. My first year of high school the school called in all entering pupils for a physical, students did the weigh in...I was so embarrassed to step on that scale and that's when I made the commitment to stay slim the rest of high school, and I did!"
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"Yes, unfortunately. Teased is a mild word for it!!"
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"Every single day of my life."
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"People used to call me 'fatty.'"
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"Never teased, at least as far as I knew. Criticized and excluded, yes, but not teased."
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"Was called "fatso" and never picked to be on teams."
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"All through my schooling. From elementary to college."
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"Called fatty fatty two by four."
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"Classmates, mother, stepfather and relatives all teased me. Mother and stepfather to the point of buying me "tent" dresses to wear. I hated them."
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"Heaven's yes, not only by strangers but my family."
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"The one memory I have is that my mother had made a dress for me. The dress had a zipper down the very front of it . The students on the bus in elementary school decided they wanted to show the world how FAT I was. One of them unzipped my zipper and they began chanting ... "Fatty Fatty two by four could not get through the bathroom door." I felt humiliated. This is the first time I think I ever shared this. But the teasing went on all the way through high school. I never felt skinny and even tried out for cheerleading. I remember the coach telling me that fat girls could not be cheerleaders and to come back after I lost weight. It was sad. My own parents teased me as well. My mother was the worst. I believe they did it to humiliate me into losing weight. It only made it worse."
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"I had a neighbor who was a couple years older than I was and she constantly teased me. I used to wear a pair of white corduroy pants that she christened "the two-ton baloney pants"... she wasn't very nice to me..."
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"Not by family, by schoolmates and such."
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"It was very hurtful. I was made fun of because I could not run fast, I was not able to play some of the games, I was always the last one to finish the exercises in gym. I was called names. There were rude comments made by family, i.e. an uncle that called me (as a pretty little girl) The Incredible Hulk. Now he just calls me Incredible."
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"Don't get her mad, she might sit on you!"
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"The scary part is it wasn't from friends at school but family members. :("
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"I was constantly being teased about my weight. I thought that if people didn't like the fat me then they weren't real friends."
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"I was mercilessly teased all through elementary school. Fat songs, being tripped, kicked...punched...laughed at...were the norm for me. It seemed that the teachers 'didn't see it.'"
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"I was teased so bad, it changed who I was as a person. In my blog on here, I have posted two of many stories I have written about my childhood. They are just two examples of my life growing up obese."
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"I was teased more than anyone should have been, but all of us who were overweight were teased!! Life was miserable as a child, not only being picked on and made fun of by other kids, but my siblings and cousins as well!"
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"Kids and adults, even relatives started making fun of me at a very early age."
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"The fat kid makes the easiest target for jokes, slurs, and pranks. They can't run fast enough to either catch up to their tormentors or get away. It doesn't help that teachers/school officials don't realize the mental and emotional issues that often go hand in hand with obesity and turn a blind eye toward the bullies."
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"It was relentless until the first time I took the weight off which is when I was about 16, but gained it all back again and then some."
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"I used to always dread going back to school in the fall after summer break. The first week of school we would have gym class and the first thing they did was put you on the scale for height/weight. In front of everyone, the gym teacher would call out your weight. It was horrible! Every summer I would try to lose weight but then get tired of it and cheat. I wanted to be able to eat like everyone else so ultimately I would gain weight and panic because I knew the gym scale was calling me a 'big fat slob'"!
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"Relentlessly. Physically abused, too."
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"Yes, but not as bad as most kids I know that went through life being overweight. My brothers teased me the most but, let's be real, they would have teased me about anything as that was their job. I do not recall many teasing moments at school, a few but nothing damaging. I always felt so blessed to be overweight and have such a good group of friends and family that really didn't see me as a number but as myself."
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"Patty Fatty two by four couldn't get through the bathroom door" seemed to be the preferred taunt of choice."
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| "Often and always, and it was hell and led me to be very suicidal around age 10 until my late teens." |
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"I was made fun of a few times in middle school, but in high school people were intimidated by me, so they didn't tease."
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| "My school days were a nightmare and I cried almost every day. Then at home, which should have been a safe place, I was also ridiculed because of my weight." |
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"Yes, I was teased relentlessly as a child, and especially when I got in middle school. That is a really hard age when you are obese."
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| "How does this sound? Roses are red, violets are blue, Cari's butt is as big as a B-52. Yes, I was teased." |
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"Horribly, adults and kids alike."
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| "Kids can be very cruel. Yes, they did it daily." |
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Your Voices on Bullying |
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"My son. It's a nightmare to him to this day."
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"A good friend in high school was obese. She was severely tormented about her weight, and treated very poorly by other students, and teachers."
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"Yes, both my sons were teased, even by each other, when they went through a 'chubby' stage, right before hitting their teenage years, when they finally outgrew their 'baby fat.'"
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"My daughter is obese and has endured teasing to a greater degree than me, I think."
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"I'm a teacher and I see it often. I try to intercede and help the child and the child who is teasing."
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"My niece who is now 24."
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"I work as a teacher. I see it every day. Any child that is different (i.e. bigger) gets picked on by other students."
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"As a physical therapist, I'm bombarded constantly with how our profession should help people exercise more so that obesity is no longer an epidemic in our country. I was a gymnast and competitive ice skater as a child with a mother who had been a Weight Watchers leader. There wasn't anything that my mother and I didn't know about losing weight and staying thin. Yet, I was still overweight as a child. I think there needs to be an awareness that sometimes obesity is more than the obvious lack of exercise and poor food choices. If we can find a way to help children, their lives as teenagers and adults will improve dramatically."
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"My daughter is going through this right now with people asking her if she is pregnant. She is becoming depressed."
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"My husband's niece."
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"Yes, my husband's grandson."
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"YES, and I was part of it. I've written about it in my early blog...my apology to George...at the time I was still a skinny kid in 5th grade."
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"My grandson, who is six, is starting to put on some weight. I hope he doesn't have other kids make fun of him, but a family member called him "fat" and his parents and I laid into that person immediately. He said he was just kidding. At 61 years old, I would think he would have been smart enough to know that you don't "kid" a child or anyone else about weight."
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"So hard to stay out of it!"
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"I never allow it in my presence - but it has happened."
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"There were others who were larger than I was and I felt their pain. I always felt like I was next in line for the teasing."
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"Yes! I try to instill in my children that it is not nice to call names and you need to treat others with respect, just as you want to be treated. I have a friend that has an overweight child. When I look at her, I see myself in her when I was that age. It's very scary. From morning until night she is constantly asking what's for breakfast, lunch or dinner even while she is eating a meal. It is clear her world revolves around food, just as mine did, and it's very sad. Every thought is about food. She could get up from the table and not even a half hour later she would say she is hungry. She would come to my home after school and in casual conversation she would say "we had chicken nuggets for lunch today." Then proceed to tell me what is for lunch the next day. My heart breaks for her, I know what road she is going down and its going to be long and tough."
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"I see the kids now days who are obese and always wish there was something I could do to help them avoid what I went through at their age."
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"Yes. I've raised my granddaughter since she was 6 weeks of age. Her mother (unmarried to the father, my son) used drugs and alcohol when she was pregnant with my granddaughter. Doctors have thought this has had an effect on her poor decision making abilities. In the 7th grade, she had to be admitted to a phych hospital for issues. She was put on meds, which made her gain over 40 pounds in 3 months. She played softball, and I commonly heard other girls tease her about her weight."
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"I have a good friend that has a granddaughter age eight and weighs 115 lbs. She is teased so much all she wants to do is go home and eat. So sad."
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"There was another girl, just like me, who was large and "well-developed" who endured the same thing as I did during gym class 'weigh-ins.'"
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"I'm very sensitive to comments made to my three year old daughter or about her. She is a healthy weight, but bigger than some of the other kids her age. I don't allow friends or family to refer to her as chubby, chunky, fat, etc. I remember how much it hurt me and don't want her to go through the same thing."
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"My own children have been teased about their own weight and about mine. It breaks my heart."
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"My daughter is fine as far as her weight. She's not lean, but not fat. She recently received an email from a neighbor girl who was mad at her (they are 12) and the email talked about my daughter being fat. Oh, I guess part of the reason the neighbor girl was mad at my daughter is she was talking about my weight. Made my daughter mad and told the neighbor girl off."
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"Children are cruel."
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"Unfortunately my son is going down the same road I was."
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"My brother was also obese growing up and pretty much shared the same type of teasing as I did."
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"A niece. I see her laughing off the unkind remarks, much the same as I did when I was her age. I wish I could make a difference somehow but she is in another state."
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"My nephew used to throw up every day before school because of his being made fun of."
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"I am a teacher (2nd grade) so I see this often and I react VERY quickly and severely.....I CAN'T tolerate this!!!"
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"I have a niece that was teased about it........"
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"My daughter."
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"I've seen parents do it to their kids. How stupid!"
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"I have two granddaughters that are obese. They are teased at school, and it breaks my heart. Their mother is severely obese. I have talked to her about her weight and the kids' weight, but she will not listen."
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"I work with high school students and this is still a major issue."
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"My son was always the biggest kid in his class and as such he was often blamed when things happened, and most of the time it wasn't even his fault. As he grew to 6 feet, 5 inches tall and 300 lbs., now people don't tease him as he can handle himself pretty well. He is a business owner and well respected in the community."
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"My cousin has been battling weight issues since she was seven years old. Thankfully, she's now 50 and still healthy but still having trouble maintaining a good weight."
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"Maybe not teased but my parents call my nieces and nephews as well as their children (when I was young and adult) "fat". The problem is they use the "fat" word even if you're not really fat but may just have curves."
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"My daughter had some problems, but she handled it so well, that she said it never bothered her much. She was so good at sports that she was accepted by her many friends."
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"Kids are cruel."
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"As a teacher, I saw it all the time in schools. Tried to help but was not always able to."
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"My own daughter fights obesity. She had been "fat" until 10th grade in high school, but she is currently in high normal range BMI - 26. It got so bad, my daughter carved "ugly" into her arm, after being told by a boy she liked "You're a fat cow!""
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"My younger sister was overweight as a teen. She was frequently teased or shunned due to her weight. It caused her to be terribly withdrawn and shy."
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"My 11 year old daughter isn't in the "obese" category. She is taller and larger than most of the kids in her class. She is 5 feet tall and 125 lbs. She wears a women's size 12. She gets teased all the time for being "fat". I think it's the only word the kids know when there is someone extraordinarily taller or larger framed than others."
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"My son. He gained weight due to medication he had to take. Once he was able to stop the meds he was back to a good weight."
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"Friends who also struggled with their weight."
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"A friend of mine has a very overweight daughter and although she has good friends she does often get excluded and teased by others. She also has a very low self-esteem."
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"I had many overweight friends and we stuck together."
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"My middle son struggles with weight and is teased by others and by brothers."
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"I used to hear my sister's husband call my nieces "bubble butt" even at a very young age. Rather than tease or verbally abuse someone, why not help them?"
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"Yes, my niece, who is the daughter of my formerly overweight sister. She's had WLS. I wish she would help her daughter from suffering the same fate."
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"Yes, my kids and niece."
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"Yes - my daughter."
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"I am a middle school teacher. As we all know middle school students can be very mean to one another. I have seen students picked on because of their size by some students and I have also seen other students show sincere compassion."
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| "Yes, my nephew has been teased and so has my great-niece." |
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"My best friend was overweight...even in grade school. She couldn't play ball like the other kids and couldn't get cute clothes. They just didn't make cute things for overweight kids back then in the mid-40's, and she didn't have many friends. We are now 66 years old and still friends, even though she lives in a different state."
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| "Myself, friends & two of my sons." |
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"My daughter struggles with her weight and has had some cruel teasing to deal with."
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| "Yes, and everyone turned their head. As we all know, obesity is the only thing we as society can discriminate against and truly get away with." |
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"It's something that happens every day. Most people see it as a normal thing, to tease a fat person. I even see if with my 18 month old niece. She's overweight for her age and my family constantly refers to her as a cute, pudgy, little girl with thighs like her Aunt Gina."
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| "This child was called so many ugly names due to her weight. Crying a lot, depressed, low self-esteem, didn't care anymore about her grades, started acting out showing signs of resentment and behavior problems." |
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"Yes. Just because the times change, teasing and bullying do exist."
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| "Both of my children when they were in school." |
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"I see this on a daily basis. I have teenagers and I hear comments being made by their friends towards heavy people. Also one of my sons is overweight and I hear the remarks being made to him."
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| "I cannot remember a time I was not teased." |
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"My niece and nephew which are ages three and six, get made fun of because Dakota is 6 and weighs over 100lbs, Mitchell is three and pushing 60lbs."
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| "My son is overweight, he is 19 and has been teased his entire life." |
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"Unfortunately, my youngest son is overweight and he has been teased because of it."
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| "I work in a school environment." |
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"It is hurtful and you still hear those words ringing in your ears for the rest of your life."
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| "Not that I am aware." |
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"It's very sad to me that children are teased about their weight. It breaks my heart."
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| "I have known several...and I think it is very mean of others." |
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"Mostly, they were just "left out of" the social activities that went along with growing up."
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| "Yes, unfortunately I see it happening every day." |
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"Every single one I've ever known has to endure teasing over their weight."
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| "Most of my close friends were overweight and we all struggled together." |
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"My niece is overweight and has huge asymmetrical breasts. It's very hard on her."
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| "My kids (now young adults) were teased about being overweight too but they were never as heavy as I was." |
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"Yes, it depends on the school mates I know. Sometimes even I don't know, too."
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| "We are Norwegian people and therefore large in size. As teens, girls are extremely pressured to look like the models on magazine covers. If there is truth in advertising then why isn't there a disclaimer on the photos announcing the model on the cover has been airbrushed?" |
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"Yes right now my three year old great-niece is in the care of her great-grandmother and doesn't get any real exercise. She does not have the opportunity to run around and play like other kids her age."
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| "Relatives, sister, niece, nephew, grandparent, uncle..." |
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"I work with many kids and this is more of an issue today."
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| "It breaks my heart to see it happen. Children are so sensitive, and it destroys their self-esteem when they are teased." |
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"Not teased from children, but have had a 3 or 4 year old ask why I'm so fat or why my tummy was so big."
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| "My own daughter." |
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"My son was teased about his size in middle school."
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| "I am the director of a nonprofit weight loss camp for children and the campers share so many stories with me." |
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"I worked as a substitute teacher in a middle school. It was so sad. Not only were the children teased but they would also sit alone in the cafeteria. Children did not want to associate with them at all."
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| "She was only 4'11" and very overweight. It was apparently genetic because her entire family was shaped the same way, yet they ate sensibly." |
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"My 20-year old daughter. Fortunately, she has a much stronger self-identity than I did, but I won't deny that the teasing has done damage to her psyche. She WILL need therapy. By the way, she is morbidly obese, just as I was."
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| "With more children overweight, I hear the teasing of my Girl Scouts. The girls are heavier but do not need to be teased. I encourage physical activity with them every week!" |
Join the Conversation:
Have you or a loved one ever been teased or bullied about your weight? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below.
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