Bullying is a serious problem and one that all stakeholders (parents, educators, community) should be educated in. Here are the latest statistics from  StopBullying.Gov. Bookmark that website and then pass these troubling statistics on to others. Permission to post this infographic was granted via StopBullying.Gov.

I’ll be doing a seminar on April 17 in Las Vegas on specific ways a community can join forces to stop the cycle of youth violence and end bullying. Law enforcement, counselors, parents, social workers, administrators, diversity trainers, campus police, teachers and community forces will all be on hand. I’ll share proven strategies to stop [...]

Lessons I learned from working on U.S. Army bases to create effective bullying prevention Well, the pages are turning, folks: bullying finally seems to be recognized as a wide-scale problem with horrific implications to our students’ learning and emotional health. Forty-nine states have passed anti-bullying policies, and an epidemic of so-called “bullying prevention programs” are [...]

Teaching kids to identify their body alarms and learn healthy ways to control anger   “I tried to stay calm, but it was too late!” “I wish I could tell when I’m about to explode.” “Don’t keep telling me I’m going to lose all my friends because of my temper. I can’t help it.” Your [...]

How to determine why a child is using aggressive behaviors so you can turn it around Let’s face it, it’s not easy to know that your child is bullying. It’s hard to admit that your kid is using aggression. But to allow bullying behaviors to continue will be disastrous to your child’s character, conscience, reputation, well-being and [...]

Greetings from Ramstein, Germany! Ramstein Air Base is a U.S. Air Force base a few hours drive from Frankfurt. It serves as headquarters for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and is also a North Atlantic Treaty Organization installation. Besides the U.S. Air Force, the installation’s population includes Belgian, British, Canadian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, [...]

What to say and do if you suspect bullying to help your child feel and be safe I know you’ve heard about bullying, but it’s a heart-stopping moment when you know it happened to your own child. But the fact is most parents whose children were  targeted by a bully admit to me that they [...]

A fun activity that helps staff, parents students see all it takes is just one cutting remark to bring someone down! Over the years I’ve delivered literally hundreds of keynote addresses to schools and organizations around the world, but the “warm-up” activity to my speech in Corona Norco Unified School District this week has to [...]

A review of  Bullied: What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid Needs to Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear, by Carrie Goldman THE REALITY CHECK on BULLYING: Statistics reveal that at least 25% of kids have been bullied online One in five teens has been bullied at school More than half of bullying behaviors will [...]

Research shows that when student bystanders intervene correctly, bullying can be cut more than half the time and within 10 seconds. – Pepler Bullying is cold-blooded, intentional cruelty,and will flourish if tolerated. Forty-nine states have now passed anti-bullying policies and so-called bullying prevention programs are cranking off the presses in record numbers. Beware: Farrington’s analysis of [...]

An essential way to hear student concerns about school safety, their ideas for reducing bullying, creating a safe and caring school, and gathering evidence-based data about bullying is by setting up Student Bullying Focus Groups. Here is the complete guide for conducting student focus groups at your school or organization.   I’ve found one of the [...]

New research findings and 3 important takeaways for bully prevention New research on bullying is published so quickly it’s hard to stay current with recent findings. But at the same time we’re already seeing an epidemic of so-called “bullying prevention programs” flooding the market. Latest reports [Farrington and Ttofi] reveal that - at best -only about one fourth [...]

How a high school student is making a difference about bullying Last month I worked in Germany on United States Army and Air Force Garrisons. My role was to inservice staff, parents, child advocates, and educators in bullying prevention strategies. I also had the opportunity to visit many schools and interview dozens of wonderful kids. [...]

Anti-Bullying Policy Developed by the U.S. Army Garrisons in Europe and Department of Defense Dependents Schools – Europe (DoDDS-E) Signed  Last March I visited four US Army and US Air Force Garrisons in Germany and it has been a thrill. I was invited by the Installation Management Command (IMCOM Europe) to train school, child and [...]

REALITY CHECK: Did you know that today’s American youth are displaying intolerant actions at alarming rates-and at younger ages? The FBI reports that most hate crimes are committed by youth younger than nineteen. The Associated Press announced  that 2009 saw most federal hate crime cases since 2001. The Southern Poverty Law Center  reports that those stats [...]

8 crucial steps educators and parents can take to reduce peer cruelty and create caring, respectful learning environments    Studies show that bullying is intensifying in our schools. We are also seeing an epidemic of so-called bullying prevention programs. Beware: three fourths of those programs which have been evaluated are ineffective in curbing bullying (Farrington). [...]

Why ADHD boosts vulnerability to bullying; solutions for parents and educators of special needs children. I had pleasure of speaking with Peggy Dolan from the Edge Foundation who does wonderful work on coaching students with ADHD. Here is our interview and the two part series on bullying and ADHD that Edge posted on their site with permission to duplicate. [...]

In this NBC’s Dateline special: “The Perils of Parenting,” I appear as the expert on bullying. Producers asked me to teach middle school students–when bullying peaks–specific bystander strategies to deal with bullies. I developed the techniques after reviewing research on the “Bystander Effect” and have trained hundreds of educators in how to use them with students. They [...]

“Bullied to Silence” document reprinted in entirety with written permission from Purple People, Inc. for use only by Michele Borba. WORDS KILL.   BE THE CHANGE.   NO MORE BULLIED TO SILENCE.  Get ready for the film, BULLIED to SILENCE that will start the change. I’m honored to be involved as the bullying expert to a [...]

In this educator keynote address, Dr. Michele Borba shares her program, The 6 R’s That Reduce Student Bullying.

What to do if your child receives cyber-threats or you suspect cyberbullying “A number of middle school students—including my daughter–are receiving vicious anonymous emails and text messages from peers. The school sent a letter home describing the problem as “cyberbullying.” What do I do to help my daughter? When do I worry? Do I call [...]

Red flags that a child may be cyber-bullied or harassed electronically Over the last few days, weeks and months we’ve read about horrific tragedies – suicides-that appear prompted by relentless bullying. There is even a term for such a tragedy-it’s called “bullycide.”   So let’s get savvy about electronic cruelty and the new digital age our [...]

Stories to share with kids of the rich and famous who were bullied from the Staff Writers on online colleges. Thank you! For bullied kids, it’s hard to imagine a life without anxiety and fear of taunting or physical abuse, but the fact is, even in what seems like the worst bullying situations, it does [...]

Four safety rules to teach kids to help them be safer online and stop cyber-bullying REALITY CHECK: Did you know that a recent survey found that almost 70 percent of adolescents say the best way for them to be safe online is through education? Are you educating your child how to be safe online? Let’s [...]

Troubling data about bullying educators, parent and concerned adults must know. The first step to stopping the cruelty is knowledge. Get educated! Facts are from onlinecollege.org Bullying exists as more than just a buzzword these days: it’s a serious issue that’s been troubling individuals and societies worldwide for centuries and is only just now receiving the [...]

How to work with the school to create a safety plan for your child when bullying continues and previous efforts fail You know your child is being bullied. You talked to your child or even with the teacher, tried strategies, but bullying continues. You’re fully aware that your child is suffering. You recognize the serious [...]

Warnings signs that a child may be the target of a bully and the crucial steps to take If your child is bullied it means that a peer or peers are intentionally causing her or him pain. Peer abuse–just the thought can send shivers down our spines. But the fact is hundreds of children skip [...]

I’m at the Hyatt in San Francisco Oct 19-22, 2011 at the CEP’s (Character Education Partnership) 18th National Forum on Character Education. Join me! Interested in learning how to reduce bullying, increase empathy, build respectful learning climates, foster resiliency, encourage student leadership, or prepare students for a lifetime of citizenship? Then join me in San Francisco [...]

Q&A with Rachel Simmons, author of the must-read and revised ODD GIRL OUT One of the women I admire most in the fight on bullying is Rachel Simmons. Her work on building leadership with young girls is just profound and her books are magnificent. I met Rachel in New York recently and was even more [...]

How teaching children tolerance can curb bullying, peer cruelty and stop the cycle of youth violence REALITY CHECK: Did you know that today’s American youth are displaying intolerant actions at alarming rates-and at younger and younger ages? The FBI tells us most hate crimes are committed by youth younger than nineteen. Tolerance is a powerful [...]

Parenting advice if your child is a repeated victim of bullying and the bullying intensifies. Why you must step in and how It’s been ten years, but I am still haunted by the memory. It was in Ottawa, Canada. I had just finished giving a keynote address on bullying to a large group of educators. [...]

Teaching kids how to be active bystanders, stand up to peer cruelty and speak out against bullying.  My “Bully B.U.S.T.E.R. Bystander SkillsI shared on Dateline. Bullying is a learned behavior, and it is on the rise. One third of middle and high school students were bullied during the school year. Previous studies estimated the figure [...]

Making a Difference in the Lives of All Young Girls A special guest post by Michelle Anthony, author of Little Girls Can Be Mean Here is a guest post by Michelle Anthony, author of the wonderful (and MUST read book) Little Girls Can Be Mean: Four Steps to Bully-Proof Girls in the Early Grades. This is [...]

Signs to watch for and three steps to take if you suspect your child is bullying Here is a recent letter I received from a parent. How would you respond? “My son’s teacher says he bullies a classmate by saying cruel things, deliberately slamming or tripping him. He denies being mean, and says the other [...]

Parenting advice to help your child be less likely to be bullied — what you and your child need to know REALITY CHECK: By some estimates, one in seven American schoolchildren is either a bully or a victim. Studies find that 160,000 children skip school every day because they fear being attacked or intimidated. And make [...]

Steps to reduce female cruelty and relational aggression and raise compassionate, respectful girls Forget “sugar and spice and everything nice.” Research too often shows a different picture with all too many of our daughters. “Vicious, mean, calculating and backstabbing” are more applicable descriptions. Psychologists call such hurtful behavior “Relational Aggression” or RA because the goal [...]

News at Central Washington University is a parent wake-up call: we have  skills to teach. Parenting advice to help you talk to your teen about date rape drugs and what you can help them learn to keep them safer and savvier Scene: Fifty unconscious and semi-conscious party goers. Vomit everywhere. One man engaging in sexual [...]

How to teach kids problem solving skills. Why doing so can predict and prevent bullying “Let’s flip a coin to decide.” “Everybody breathe a minute, then we can take turns.” “Why don’t we just both think of another choice?” Parents and teachers have always recognized the benefits of kids learning to work together to solve [...]

How to know if a girl may be a victim of female bullying and the “Mean Girl Scene” “I don’t want to go to school!” “All the girls hate me!” “Can’t we please just go away for awhile!” “I can’t take it anymore!” Sound familiar? They’re the kind of comments young girls utter about the [...]

Again, folks. Again! Police in Port St. Lucie are investigating the apparent suicide of a fifth grader. Celina Okwuone hanged herself in her closest Thursday night and was found by her parents with a belt wrapped around her neck. Celina Okwuone, 11 years old What could possibly cause an eleven-year old child to take her [...]

Bullying. It’s rampant, cruel, and too much of the teen scene. But if you had even an ounce of doubt as to the extent of how vicious kids can be, this story should do it. A fourteen-year old boy was lured to a basement in a Concord, New Jersey home by teens. The high school [...]

EMPATHY: Identifying with and feeling other people’s concerns. Eleven-year-old Nathaniel Abraham from Pontiac, Michigan, told his friend that he was going to shoot somebody. He allegedly stole a gun and practiced his aim on stationary targets. Then he walked to a convenience store, pointed his gun at a stranger and shot Ronnie Greene Jr. in [...]

Chilling details continue to emerge three months after South Hadley High school freshman, Phoebe Prince, took her life. Descriptions of relentless vicious taunts, endless physical threats and horrifying bullying she endured at the hands of her peers leave us shaken. Now news sources have obtained two essays Phoebe Prince wrote for her high school English [...]

Peer cruelty is also increasing and becoming more violent. By some estimates, one in seven American schoolchildren is either a bully or a victim. Studies find that 160,000 children skip school every day because they fear being attacked or intimidated by other students. And the cruel behavior increases with age. A recent study prepared for the American [...]

Part 2: How to Stop Bullying Using Proven Strategies. Let’s put an end to peer cruelty now!  Here’s how…. Bullying Increasing In Industrialized Nations Bullying among our youth is a significant problem–and it is steadily increasing. We also know that bullying is increasing in every industrialized nation: Japan, Canada, Australia, England, Finland…the list goes on. [...]

Bullying is a learned behavior that is on the rise. What’s more it is far more intense, occurs more frequently and at younger ages. U.S. National School Safety Center warns that bullying has become the “most enduring and underrated problem in American schools. One recent study prepared for the American Psychological Association showed that 80 percent of [...]

This week CNN asked me to comment on why children turn violent. The CNN HLN news story involved an 11 year old Florida girl and her 15 year old boyfriend who are accused of plotting to kill the girl’s mother by pouring gasoline on her bed and bedroom floor, and then igniting it while the [...]

Read the paper lately or heard any of the troubling stories about our girls? It appears many of the sugar and spice set are no longer nice. Here are just a sample appalling recent headlines to refresh your memory:   • “Millburn High Senior Girls Create Slut List for Incoming Freshman and Welcome Them By Slamming [...]

Michele Borba Note to readers: This is the fourth in a series of blogs about relational aggression-or the new mean girl scene-and what educators and parents can do to curb this  trend. In past blogs I’ve discussed the forms of relational aggression, how boys bully vs girls, and the impact of being targeted, and signs that [...]

Part II The Affect of Relational Aggression (RA) On Girls Michele Borba Note to readers: This is the second in a series of blogs about relational aggression-or the new mean girl scene-and what educators and parents can do to curb this troubling trend. The first step to change is always awareness. And we need to [...]