Newly crowned Miss Teen Brooke Parchment warned children at John Gray High School about the dangers of bullying.

Brooke visited the school as part of her duties for her year as the beauty pageant winner.

She highlighted the different aspects of bullying that blight everyday lives of youngsters whether it’s physical, mental or verbal.

And she warned of the dangers of cyber bullying and using social network sites like Facebook to inflict pain and heartache on other children.

Cayman’s Miss Teen, Brooke Parchment, recently gave a special presentation to a group of teenagers at John Gray High School on the topic of bullying.

“Some students’ school days were far from happy,” she said, “and they hate waking up each morning knowing that they are about to face torture and harassment from their fellow peers.”

Brooke, a Year 11 student at St. Ignatius, then went on to outline the various forms bullying can take:

“Verbal bullying is when a person is called names, threatened and made to feel bad. Physical bullying is when a person is hit, punched and pushed, or they have their personal items stolen,” she said.

“There is also social bullying, when someone is left out of group activities, deliberately ignored and has rumours spread about them to make them feel like an outsider,” she continued

“Psychological bullying is when someone is stalked or intimidated. Last but not least, cyber bullying is where an individual is bullied through chat rooms, online, through Facebook, Instant Messenger or by texts and BBM,” she said.

Reasons why bullies pick on others usually boil down to some kind of perceived difference, and may include someone’s appearance, race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation, Brooke said.

“Both males and females are capable of carrying out a viscious attack on others. Some bullies only do it to uphold their reputation.

“Many bullies only bully others out of jealousy and many of the people who have been bullied go on to do great things with their lives.”

It was very important for those who see bullying going on to intervene, Brooke continued.

“A person may seem okay with being bullied, and they don’t stick up for themselves, but on the inside could be devastated and truly hurt. So be the ‘bigger person’ and stand up for the victim.

“Our teenage years should be some of the best and most memorable of our lives, and they should not be ruined because of hurtful words and cruel actions,” she said.