October is Bully Prevention Month

We've all heard about tragic results that can occur when students are bullied or harassed by classmates. Whether bullying is prompted by race, religion, sexual orientation, or occurs because of mean or thoughtless young people seek to hurt or demean others, it is a problem that has been made all the more complicated to solve because of the instant information world in which we live.  

The Pacer Center in Minnesota has created an array of resources for young children, teens, schools, and parents to help educate children about bullying. The key is not just to encourage kids not to be bullies, but to educate them to speak out and take appropriate actions if they are the subject or bullying or if they observe bullying taking place. 

More locally, CAPS, Child Abuse Prevention Services, based on Long Island, is building on its long time work on this issue and establishing a Bully Prevention Center to provide a place for parents to turn for education and support and helplines for children and parents faced with bullying. The Helpline is staffed by professionals with expertise in bullying and cyberbullying. Contact numbers are 516-621-0552 and 631-289-3240 (ext 109).The email address is bullyhelpline@capsli.org. All inquiries are confidential.

Research has shown that interventions aimed at raising awareness, establishing rules, and counseling individual students about bullying can have meaningful results. Learn what your child's school is doing about all kinds of bullying. Speak to your child about how to avoid being a bully or a passive by-stander to bullying, or a silent  victim of bullying. And check out these websites for more important information.