I think that bullying is taken too seriously in the United States. They have all these prevention rules against it, but it is a way of life. Bullying teaches kids to stand up for themselves and to show how the world can be difficult so they can learn that there is good times and bad times. People help children through this problem so much that they don't learn how to care for themselves. We need to take a step back and let life go on or the kids will become too reliant on adults. They won't be able to make a living without help and bullying can cause problems, but it may help some kids strive to be stronger. I think that bullying rules help in severe cases but there are way too strict so kids don't learn their way in the world.

Excellent discussion! Please send the tape to the presidential candidates and members of Congress.
Maybe they will re-evaluate their behavior! Also, send to school superintendent
Brizard. Do increase the school day and add Civics lessons back into the curriculum!
Bring her back!

Bullying is a serious problem affecting millions of children. It can interfere with their social and emotional development, as well as their school performance. 19,000 children attempt to commit suicide every year as a direct result of being bullied. To help combat this, I have put together a bully prevention show for elementary schools & libraries called "The STOP Bullying Show". Based out of Orlando, Florida, the show raises the awareness of bullying in a fun & engaging way; while teaching kids what they can do to put a stop to it. Highlights of the show can be seen here...

http://youtu.be/2qAvD01RD9E
http://www.StopBullyingShow.com

A relative is 53 years old and still blames me for bullying done to her by others decades ago. In fact now she has become the bully. It is a huge issue for her, and I guess at this point in life she is the one choosing to dwell on it. Bullying occurs among adults as mentioned in politics etc. Christians revere Jesus for the bullying he endured and then forget all of us are capable of that kind of behavior. ie - wasn't the impeachment of Pres. Clinton a type of bullying by conservatives???? what did Jesus do when the woman was caught in adultry??? Hypocrisy is all over. May be part of the lesson of Jesus crucifiction is to never treat another the way He was treated. It is true that it is a way of life - it really still is a jungle out there. May be we all need to commit to not being a bully - whether at work, play or in our families. May be the media could start calling it what it is - it certainly is in the news almost daily. Isn't Occupy Wallstreet a movement against financial bullying???

I was a bullying victim, and I come to agree with Dr. Dorothy, most of the time people who don't conform, who looks different are more prone to being bullied than others, it doesn't mean that the victims are wrong for being themselves. But it is quite the truth: “be Yourself” is the worst advice you could give to someone who struggles to fit in the group. It’s not an encouragement for disingenuousness but rather an encouragement for self preservation. Here is what I come up with as a solution for bullying in our society; WWW.LICENSETOBULLY5.COM I think the message is clear: the bully is robbing the victim and they need to associate it with losing something (even it is as symbolic as $5).
WWW.LICENSETOBULLY5.COM

Our job as adults is to keep them as safe as possible. This doesn’t mean that they will never get hurt, but we must do everything in our power to protect them. Which adults are responsible to protect them? ALL OF US! It’s shameful that this is even a debate. The quote, “It takes a village”, has never been more true. It’s not that the kids are changing, the technology and adult response has. Thinking about movies like “The Outsiders”, bullying has always existed in some way. However, youth can no longer escape it. The most effective response we’ve seen is complete climate change in schools which includes involved parents. Schools and parents must team together. This is one of the core component of the programs we develop with schools.

Parents need to know that children and adolescents are not safe just because they are home. If they have access to the internet (on cell phones or computers), unsupervised, they are as much at risk as if they were hanging out outside the home. Children who isolate are are greater risk for self injurious behavior and suicide. Talk to your children and adolescents and more importantly, LISTEN. Long car rides are often the best place to get them to talk.

Schools need to take the issue of bullying seriously. Stop thinking of it as simply meeting a criteria or another legislative overreaching demand. Creating an atmosphere of safety and zero tolerance, where bullying is simply understood as unacceptable, is critical to the long lasting change and ensuring youth security and well being. Assemblies with staff will not accomplish this. It’s about culture change.

Let’s work together to keep children and adolescents safe this school year!

The bullying alert has gone crazy in this country. I was severly bullied in the 70's, 80's and 90's. I was usually the new kid because my parents moved a lot. It went too far, way too far, but at the same time if I had never dealt with a bully ever in life I couldn't have handled life when I was and adult. The main reason is the bullies don't stop. When you get older the bullies are lawyers or corrupt church people trying to steal your cash. The divorce court, the bank that raises your interest on a loan, the jerk at work, the employer that doesn't apprieciate you, the spouse that cheats and then sues for everything and on and on. If kids don't ever learn to deal with any of it before adulthood it will crush them, and if we let that happen we are doing them a great disservice. We cannot garentee young people a bully free world when they are adults by any stretch if the imagination, and sadly because of that they need to learn to deal, just like the rest of us did. I believe if it's getting bad like the kid is being harassed on the Internet or to the point where they are in serious danger, or want to kill themselves adults should of course step in. However it will be a big mistake to get in the middle of every conflict our children have. It seems that in the days since Columbine everyone is serching for an answer to what would have prevented it and bullying is the go to explanation. But that really fails to come to terms with what happened at Columbine. Eric and Dylan were the bullies, way more than that they were monsters. They were such brats that when the other brats didn't like them they thought it was justified to kill the whole school. Columbine was a perfect suburb that found out the monster came from within and that when your children always get their way that can be deadly when their way becomes murder. Kids need to be knocked back in life, they need to realize that they can't always be top dog. They don't need to be crushed, however, and adults should be involved when that is happening. However if they never learn to deal with any conflicts that involve nasty people we can be sure life will crush them in the end because as all of us adult know too well--the world is full of soul crushing jerks.