Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 jellybean asks

Q: some people are mean to me about my diabetes how do i make them stop without telling on them

a few kids at school are mean to me because i'm slightly different and that's the only reason i wish they would leave me alone and stop talking about my diabetes. it makes me sad knowing that some people are mean to meCry

 

Smile

i also get a lot of moral support from my family and i know they will love me no matter what

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10/21/09 10:42pm

Hi JellyBean,

 

 

YOu know, a funny thing about people, sometimes when we are scared of something or we don't know much about something, we act out in a mean way to make ourselves feel more comfortable. It sounds as though your classmates clearly don't know anything about diabetes (they'd never make fun of you for enduring such a disease if they did), and so they sink to their lowest and make fun of you.

 

WE know you are just as important and as a cool as everyone else whether or not you have diabetes, everyone, even your peers, have differences in their lives that set them apart, too, right?

 

Do you think you would feel comfortable standing up to these kids, calmly, and saying, "You're making fun of me for having a disease I didn't ask for, but that I will live with for my whole life. I don't make fun of you for all the reasons you're different."

 

?

 

 

Ginger

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10/21/09 11:40pm

Just to expand on what Ginger said, maybe you should talk to your teachers to see if you could put together a little presentation to explain what diabetes is and what it involves. this would allow these other kids to learn a little about the disease and what you are going through. One idea for making diabetes seem a little more cool might be to give examples of some famous people who live with diabetes everyday. here is a Web site I found that has a list of famous people from all walks of life with diabetes : http://www.dlife.com/dLife/do/ShowContent/inspiration_expert_advice/famous_people/

 

Good luck.

Damon

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10/21/09 11:23pm

"You know what I want to think of myself? As a human being. because, I mean I don't want to be like 'As Confucius say,' but under the sky, under the heavens there is but one family. It just so happens that people are different."

 

-Bruce Lee

 


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10/22/09 9:01am

Hey JellyBean!

 

Ginger and Damon gave you all the right advice!  I just thought I would chime in as I experienced the same thing when I was in middle school, many years ago!  

 

There were 5 popular girls who would decide one week to include someone and the next week to exclude someone.  We had been playing kickball outside and I knocked one of the girls out of the game and she screamed, "Doesn't matter, you have rabies anyway, because you take shots!"  For whatever reason, it hit me and I had a meltdown in the classroom.  My teacher showed up in front of my desk to ask what was wrong.  I didn't want to tell her why I had tears, and I thought I was showing weakness in front of the entire class, so I didn't want to tell.  

 

But what ended up happening was rather amazing, my classmates stood by me, including her friends!  My closest friend took my hand, and almost in a whisper told the teacher what happened.  Other kids chimed in that it was true.  The teacher gave the bully a detention, looked around the room and then asked us to take our seats.  Later, many came up to me and said that what this girl had said was wrong and she deserved the detention. She left the school the following year and I never saw her again. But to give this full circle, that bully is now a facebook friend with me! LOL

 

Hang in there, and look for support from your friends and ASK for their support when you need it! You might be surprised what happens. Smile

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10/22/09 1:12pm

"Ignorance breeds fear" is the only thing I can tell you.  

My son is a fifth grader and one of his classmates has diabetes.  For an oral report project last year, she gave a great speech about diabetes and what it is like to live with it, as well as some facts about the disease.  Maybe you could do something like that for a grade?  The more kids know about diabetes, the less they will be mean about it because they will know what it really means to be diabetic.  You should definitely talk to your parents about it because the teacher could help you by educating your class as well.  Good luck!

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11/24/09 3:21pm

When I was first diagnosed I was scared to tell people, alot of my friends didnt know because I was scared what they would think of me or say. I dont care anymore, and shouldnt either, because the people that are mean to you know nothing, and are showing their maturity level! Which is pretty low, dont they have anything else better to do?

I know for a fact that these kids have someone or many someones in their own family with health issues, everyone does! How would they feel if you and others made fun of them? They would get pretty mad and go on the defense!

 

Be the bigger and better mature person and talk about your diabetes with your friends and anyone asking you questions about it, take really good care of your diabetes, eat healthy infront of these kids, join diabetes programs and volunteer in your neighborhood, get involved and make tons and tons of friends who totally understand you and get this disease, dont hide from it, dont let these morons make you sick or sad!

Trust me, when you stop caring what they think or say and ignore them and go about your biz they will leave you alone, and maybe even take an interest in your diabetes!

If you ever need incouragement or support you let me know, I and my diabetic friends are behind you 100%, and I know that Ginger and everyone else on Diabeteens is too!!

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