How to Handle the Bullying Epidemic

President Obama and Michelle Obama recently hosted a conference at the White House on preventing bullying. About 150 students, parents and teachers met at the conference to discuss their experiences with bullying as well as what schools and communities are doing to stop it. With the rash of teen suicides and bullying targeting young girls, those with disabilities, kids of different ethnic origins or nationalities – there is too much damage being done to our children and it must stop.

Obama said children shouldn't have to accept bullying as an inevitable part of growing up. The President focused on individual actions to stop bullying even though there are a variety of anti-bullying bills pending in both the state and federal legislatures, include a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Illinois Republican Mark Kirk.

Last week, the White House launched Stopbullying.gov, a site that “provides information from various government agencies on how kids, teens, young adults, parents, educators and others in the community can prevent or stop bullying.” After looking through the site, there is some good information on recognizing the signs of bullying, how to deal with cyber-bullying and resources for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trangender) youth. 

I know as a parent the subject of bullying is agonizing. You want to help your child but you also want to teach them to deal with conflict and it's hard to know when to step in. Also, we certainly don't want to believe that our child could ever be the aggressor in a bullying situation but we need help to know how to stop that behavior, once it is identified. 

A friend of mine was agonizing that her 1st grade daugher was being bullied by another girl. Even after a meeting with both parents, the children and the school principal, it still continued. What are the proper channels for dealing with bullying at school and what can you do if the situation doesn't change?

Our family had to deal with an issue with bullying on the bus. It was frustrating because it took me weeks to figure out what was going on and why my son was so moody. Once we realized what was happening, we tried to help my son with strategies to resolve the problem directly with the other child. When that didn't work, we notified the school. I have to say that the Principal handled the issue immediately once it was known and the bullying stopped. I was grateful for the help.

Talking about bullying seems to be the most effective way to address the issue. If you are uncomfortable broaching the topic, look for books or other resources to spark the discussion. Last fall, the Chicago Children's Theater group performed the children's musical The Hundred Dresses. Although the play has closed, read this iVillage post and watch the video from Beth Engleman on the powerful message about bullying in this play. 

Please weigh in and share any experiences you've had on bullying or resources you've found to help address and talk to your children about the issue.