>> SCHOOL BULLYING

Almost all children and teens get bullied at one time or another. Someone rips off your lunch, excludes you from a group, teases, taunts, hits or mocks you. A recent trend shows that some bullies continue their terror from home, spewing their venom via computers through instant messaging and e-mails, and with text messaging on cell phones. Even if it only happens once, it can be painful. Some victims are attacked daily for years.

An estimated 10 percent to 20 percent of children are victims of persistent attacks by bullies. They are at risk for a variety of serious adjustment problems, including depression, anxiety and a host of school-related troubles. Yet many schools continue to downplay the seriousness of bullying. One study found that 66.4 percent of victimized children claimed that school personnel responded poorly to bullying episodes.

Every school should have a zero tolerance policy for bullying. One of the latest and most successful tactics against bullying is the “bully box.” Similar to a ballot box, with a lock and key and placed inside the school library or cafeteria, both victims and witnesses can fill-out an incident report and place it in the box for a school administrator to read. A “bully box” in a Scottish school earned a “Healthy School” award after being credited with cutting bully incidents in half. Our first contributor below offers some good parental advice on this subject.

ANTI-BULLY TACTICS My son was being tormented at school by a bully for weeks before I found out. Ask your children if they get teased at school and encourage them to tell you if it ever happens. If they do report bullying, offer some strategies that may help, such as ignoring the bully and walking away, hanging out with a group of classmates, or even agreeing with the bully (“Yeah, I’m fat. Don’t you think I know that?”). If the bullying continues, demand action from the school administration. -- A Reader.