• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Display Search Bar
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Facebook Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Twitter Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Pinterest Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Instagram Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on YouTube Follow 5 Minutes For Mom via RSS

5 Minutes for Mom

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast and Brunch
      • Snack
      • Lunch
      • Appetizer
      • Dinner
      • Dessert
    • Ingredient
      • Apple
      • Beef
      • Blueberry
      • Chicken
      • Chocolate
      • Cranberry
      • Peach
      • Pumpkin
      • Squash
      • Strawberry
      • Tomato
      • Vegetables
      • Zucchini
    • Method
      • Air Fryer
      • Baking
      • Grilling
      • Instant Pot
      • No Bake
      • One Dish
      • Slow Cooker
    • Type
      • Breads and Rolls
      • Cakes and Muffins
      • Condiments
      • Cookies and Bars
      • Drinks
      • Food for Kids
      • Gluten-Free
      • Main Dish
      • Pies and Crisps
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches and Wraps
      • Side Dishes
      • Smoothies
      • Soup
  • Crafts & DIY
    • Crafts
    • DIY
    • Kids Crafts
    • Printables
    • Scrapbooking
    • Sewing
  • Family Life
    • Giveaways
    • Lifestyle
    • Marriage
    • Motherhood
    • Parenting
    • Pet Care
    • Special Needs
    • Time Management
    • Travel
  • Holidays
    • New Year’s
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas

Take Action Against Bullying – Advice From Bullied Middle Schooler, Turned Teen Activist

February 11, 2013 by Susan

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

ShareTweetPinPocketMail

Katy Butler is the teenage activist who successfully petitioned for the film rating of the movie Bully to be changed from R to PG13 thus allowing middle schoolers and teenagers to see the movie and for it to be viewed in schools.

Passionate about the cause because of her own experience of relentless bullying in middle school over her sexual orientation, Katy started a petition and inspired celebrities such as Ellen Degeneres to help pressure the Motion Picture Association (MPAA) of America’s ratings board to reduce the rating to PG13.

Image Credit: Kris Connor/Getty Images for The Weinstein Company

I spoke with Katy and asked her advice on how kids, parents, and teachers can take action today to reduce bullying.

How Kids Can Help

Katy’s number one action for kids being bullied is to TALK to someone NOW. Unfortunately, kids so often do not tell anyone that they are being bullied or tell the full story of what is happening.

In her own struggle with bullies, Katy herself did not admit to her parents what was going on. Fortunately, her parents did notice how upset she was about going to school and they took action.

Katy began to be bullied at 12 years old after she told her best friend that she was gay. Her friend betrayed her confidence and soon all the kids in their middle school mercilessly bullied Katy for being a lesbian.

I asked Katy if she regretted opening up to that friend and she said, “No, I don’t regret anything. It made me who I am today.”

To kids who are considering opening up about their sexual orientation, Katy encourages them to be true to themselves.

How Parents Can Help

Katy’s mother is a fabulous example of how parents can help their bullied children.

Katy is thankful to her parents for how they helped her.

She said her mother kept telling her over and over how much they loved her. Katy laughed and said she’d say, “yeah, yeah… I know, I know…” when her mom would tell her how nothing she could do would make them stop loving her. But that hearing it over and over was so powerful and eventually gave her the courage to come out to them as a lesbian.

When I asked Katy if she thought her parents knew, she said…

“Yes, I’m sure they knew all along. But they waited for me to be ready to tell them. And I’m glad they did.”

While the first step for parents is showing and communicating their love, Katy’s parents also demonstrate the second critical step… take ACTION!

Even though Katy didn’t really tell her parents what was happening, they saw through her behaviour that she was suffering. They went to her teachers and school administrators to seek help. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the help they needed and eventually they took Katy out of that school and enrolled her in a different school where she is no longer bullied.

Katy and her family were fortunate to have the option to switch schools, and as she recognizes, not all bullied kids can change schools and nor should they have to.

How Teachers and School Administrators Can Help

Teachers have a tough job. No one, not even Katy, disputes that fact. With overflowing classrooms and overcrowded schools, teachers and school administrators are struggling to educate and keep kids safe.

Katy’s plea to teachers is to try to create a new tone of acceptance and promote equality in the classroom. While she realizes teachers are busy, she feels taking just a couple moments to check if a student is okay can make a huge difference.

Katy has noticed that one of the positive aspects of the Bully movie is that educators who have seen the film are recognizing and admitting their own mistakes.

Watch Bully on DVD

Bully comes out on DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb 12th.

Watch this movie with your kids. Personally, I think kids ages 10 to 12 should watch with their parents. If you can get your teen to watch with you, it’s a great way to start discussions with them too. But whether they watch with you or not, all teenagers should see this film.

Order a copy of the DVD for yourself and at the same time, perhaps get a copy to donate to your school or public library.

Let’s stop bullying now!

For more information on bullying see our Anti-Bullying Resource Page.

Listen to My Interview with Katy Butler

Hear first hand Katy’s story and her advice on how we can all take action against bullying.

ShareTweetPinPocketMail
Get Inspired and Achieve Your Life Goals with MyInspirationBank.com
Interview with Safe Haven’s Julianne Hough

About Susan

Susan Carraretto and her identical twin, Janice Croze, created 5 Minutes for Mom in 2006. Susan loves all social media, but her top addiction these days is Pinterest.

Reader Interactions


Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

2 Comments

  1. Lolli says

    February 13, 2013 at 12:57 pm

    We’re currently dealing with bullying with my son, who has had bullying problems since he was in 4th grade (he’s in 6th now, in the middle school). I would love for this movie to be shown at his school!

    Reply
  2. Josh says

    February 12, 2013 at 7:13 pm

    Thanks for the great post and resources! Thanks again for your continued work to erase bullying, and your extensive coverage on the ERASE bullying summit.

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Bringing Moms Together

We are Janice and Susan, twin bloggers and work-at-home moms. We're here to inspire, encourage & empower you.

Meet Us…

Work With Us…

Subscribe via Email

to be first to read new posts

Trending Now

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Peppers Recipe

Oven Roasted Potatoes and Peppers Recipe

How To Use A Moka Pot – Discover The Secret To Making Amazing Coffee At Home

How To Use A Moka Pot – Discover The Secret To Making Amazing Coffee At Home

Get Outside and Play with Spray Chalk

Get Outside and Play with Spray Chalk

browse around

  • Posts by Susan
  • Posts by Janice
  • Favorite Recipes
  • Favorite Crafts
  • Giveaways
  • All Posts

Footer

Recipes

St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies with a Clever Decorating Trick

St. Patrick’s Day Sugar Cookies with a Clever Decorating Trick

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe and History

Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe and History

Easy Valentine Sugar Cookies

Easy Valentine Sugar Cookies

Crafts/DIY

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

“You Color My World” Free Printable Valentines

Buddy the Elf Hat Pattern – How to Make an Elf Hat out of Felt

Buddy the Elf Hat Pattern – How to Make an Elf Hat out of Felt

20 Free Summer Printables For Kids

20 Free Summer Printables For Kids

Giveaways

Holiday Gift Guides and Christmas Giveaway 2024

Holiday Gift Guides and Christmas Giveaway 2024

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Women

Valentine’s Day Gifts For Women

REDEEMING LOVE Set to Strike Gold on the Big Screen #RedeemingLoveMovie

REDEEMING LOVE Set to Strike Gold on the Big Screen #RedeemingLoveMovie

Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Facebook Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Twitter Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Pinterest Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on Instagram Follow 5 Minutes For Mom on YouTube Follow 5 Minutes For Mom via RSS
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Us
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 5 Minutes for MomTheme by Melissa Rose Design and Once Coupled