Tips For Parents

This is a trailer for the documentary “Bully,” which was released last month and has garnered much national attention. While many people have an understandable tendency to dismiss bullying as just being a part of growing up, it is important for all of us to understand that bullying behavior in the 21st century is no longer limited to school hallways and playgrounds. Rather, the increase in popularity for social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have made so-called
“cyber bullying” an additional way for victims to be harassed and abused.

I bring this issue up because it is important for parents to understand that they need to become involved when their child has become a victim of bullying. A New Jersey school board recently agreed to a $4.2 million settlement with a former student six years after a punch from a bully resulted in the student being paralyzed. While the board of education in that incident did not admit liability, the family of the paralyzed student was able to demonstrate that school officials knew or should have known about the attacker’s violent tendencies.

That case demonstrates the importance of documenting all conversations a parent attempts to have with school officials regarding bullying. Parents cannot be afraid to take action when a child is being repeatedly bullied. It is perfectly appropriate to contact the authorities if there is any kind of physical assault, and you should speak to a lawyer if teachers or school administrators seem dismissive or unconcerned with the issue.

While bullying has long been treated as just being another “part of life,” more and more cases of this behavior around the nation are resulting in catastrophic injuries or even deaths. Parents must still maintain the greatest protective role. It is important for all of us to become involved so we can hopefully prevent any more unnecessary injuries or deaths resulting from bullying.