Teasing and Inappropriate Touching
Youth
Teasing is often meant to be playful and harmless. But verbal or physical teasing is never okay and is not a healthy way to show someone you like them. Some people may tease another person to make themselves feel better or more powerful than another person. Other people may tease someone because that person is different from other people. Regardless of why someone teases another person, teasing can easily cross the line into bullying and harassment if it’s done over and over again. Touching other people without their permission, verbally teasing them and bullying are never okay.
If you’re being bullied or harassed, talk with a trusted adult. If the first adult you tell doesn’t do anything, tell another adult you trust. Keep telling adults you trust until you get help.
Parents
Teasing is a common practice that is often meant to be playful. Adults and young people will sometimes engage in playful teasing, but teasing can easily cross the line and become hurtful. It’s important that young people know that teasing can be harmful under the following conditions:
- When one person is targeted
- When it happens repeatedly, even though the person has asked for it to stop
- When someone makes fun of a person’s race, culture, gender, ability or some other aspect of their person that is out of their control
- When it involves touching or crosses physical boundaries
These types of hurtful teasing can be considered bullying or harassment.
Your child should know that bullying and harassment are never okay, even if their intent was not to irritate or hurt the other person. Make sure your child knows verbal teasing, grabbing part of someone’s body, snapping someone’s bra or pulling down a person’s pants, which some may think is funny, can be extremely annoying, embarrassing and hurtful to the other person.
If you see your child verbally or physically teasing another child, encourage your child to consider how the other person might feel. If they wouldn’t want someone verbally teasing, poking or grabbing them, then it’s not something they should do to another person. Make sure your child knows that teasing is not a healthy way to get another person’s attention. Suggest some other ways your child might engage with another person, such as asking how the other person is, engaging in conversation or inviting them to play a game.
Your child should also know that if they have a concern about someone teasing them, they can come to you for help.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
After watching the video with your class, process it using the following discussion questions:
Educators
Teasing is a common practice that is often meant to be playful. Adults and young people will and do engage in playful teasing, but teasing can easily cross the line and become hurtful. It’s important that young people know that teasing can be harmful under the following conditions:
- When one person is targeted
- When it happens repeatedly, even though the person has asked for it to stop
- When someone makes fun of a person’s race, culture, gender, ability or some other aspect of their person that is out of their control
- When it involves touching or crosses physical boundaries
These types of hurtful teasing can be considered bullying or harassment.
Make sure your students know that bullying and harassment are never okay, even if their intent was not to irritate or hurt the other person. Students should also understand that verbal teasing, grabbing part of someone’s body, snapping someone’s bra or pulling down a person’s pants, which some may think is funny, can be extremely annoying, embarrassing and hurtful to the other person.
If you see a student verbally or physically teasing another student, address the situation. Ask the student doing the teasing to consider how the other person might feel. If they wouldn’t want someone verbally teasing, poking or grabbing them, then it’s not something they should do to another person. Your students should also know that teasing is not a healthy way to get another person’s attention. Suggest some other ways a person might engage with another person, such as asking how the other person is and engaging in conversation.
Students should also know that if they have a concern about someone teasing them, they can come to you for help.