Sister Vs. Sister: When An Older Sibling Bullys A Younger One

I have noticed bullying between siblings before, and I think it happens because they live together. In particular, this applies to one of my best friends and her older sister.

I used to be best friends with the older sister, and we always hung out together. Because she was one year older than me, she was the “leader” in our group of friends. Everyone followed what she said and she was pretty bossy sometimes. She would sometimes say mean things to her younger sister, but because I was her best friend, I didn’t really take much action against it except for saying, “Stop being so mean.”

Throughout the years, we drifted apart because we attended different schools. We had different friends and different interests. When I started high school, I became someone who cared about school and she just really didn’t care. Her younger sister and I had a similar outlook on education so we got closer. She is my best friend now and she always tells me about how her older sister treats her badly at school.

For example, my best friend told me that her older sister would put her down in front of a whole group of her friends and humiliate her. As a result, my best friend spent most of her freshman year being alone at school in the library with no one to talk to really. I understand too because it happens sometimes when I go to their house.

I think she bullies her younger sister because she wants to be seen as someone who is tough. Also, because it builds her reputation so that people will recognize her. Luckily, she is not as bad as she used to be, and I think it may be because she is starting to realize what she is doing.

Whenever she bullies my friend, I actually have courage to tell her to seriously stop because I am older, and more importantly, I know I can do something about it now.

The kNOw Youth Media

The kNOw works to support and equip young people with the journalism and advocacy skills they need to tell their stories and the stories of their communities.

In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.

Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.

The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.