Hello all. I was just reading in the paper the other day about Mentor High School and the suicides that have occurred there. Parents, Teachers, Administrators - we need to wake up and take action. When are we going to realize that words can kill? Kids being picked on or made fun of NEED help and so do the kids who are doing the picking on!

Schools who have anti-bullying programs I applaud you, however, do they include forms of relational aggression? In other words, it’s easy to give consequences for physical bullying, but what about the less overt stuff? Are your teachers and other staff members trained to deal with situations that occur on a daily basis in the classroom, lunchroom, playground, bus, club meetings, and sports practices that involve kids being excluded, made fun of, texted about, or anything else that is easy to do under the radar? Do you have resources available for kids who feel that they have no one to turn to when their entire class is spreading a rumor about them? When are we as adults going to realize that this is NOT just kids being kids?

If your school does not already have some type of proactive anti-bullying program in place fight to get one. The scars left by a punch will heal, but those left by vindictive words will last a lifetime. We need to recognize that our kids need tools to help them navigate through these kinds of situations. The aggressors, the victims, and the bystanders all need help. Please check out some of our links on our professional help page  or do some research on your own. Either way, we can no longer stand by idly and allow our children to take their own lives because they feel that they have no other alternative!