Special Report: Parental Pop Quiz - Bullying

Fifteen-year-old Phoebe Prince, a sophomore at South Hadley High School ends her young life.

Just nine months earlier, 11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover of Springfield takes his life.

Both endured relentless bullying - to the point where they felt the only way out was suicide. Their deaths shocked the nation…and their tragic stories helped change the law in Massachusetts.

But parents still wonder:

"Have we learned anything because of what happened? Or are the kids pretty much doing the same thing that they were doing a year ago?" Sirdeaner Walker, Carl’s mother said.

And if they are, what do you need to know to protect your own children? This parental pop quiz can help.

Question 1:

Over the weekend, your child gets a message on Facebook from a kid that says, "you think you're so great, let's meet tomorrow- I'm bringing a knife."

You should first--

A. Report it to school officials

B. Print it out and go right to the police

C. Tell your child to ignore it

The answer, according to Dr. Elizabeth Englander of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center, is - b: Print it and report it to police.

“Anytime a message involves violence or the threat of violence, that's the time to call police. You should not respond to the message because you don't want to keep the conversation going,” Dr. Englander said and added, parents should let school officials know too.

Question 2:

Your child tells you a student violently pushed her to the ground during recess-but no adults or other kids witnessed it.

What should you do first?

A. Immediately report it to school officials

B. Go right to the police

C. Tell your child to fight back next time

The answer is a: Report it to school officials. But first, be sure to get all the info on what happened.

“Talk to your children about what exactly was the sequence of events? Who came out first? The more specific you can be the more credible the information and then you want to take that and go to the school administration,” Dr. Englander said.

Parents can work directly with the school, and then determine if police should be involved.

Question 3:

Two children start to yell at each other over a game.

Is this a form of bullying? Yes or no.

The answer?

“No, arguing is not bullying and it's important to understand the difference. It's a conflict and they have to learn how to resolve it, but bullying is when one child has much more power than the other child,” Dr. Englander said.

She added, the best way for parents to know whether their child is being bullied - have a simple conversation and ask questions.

“Ask them what goes on in school and say to them, I worry because I hear a lot in the news about bullying and cyber bulling and problems online,” said Dr. Englander. 

That way you are letting your children know, they can come to you and together, you can battle bullies.

For more information, check out The Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center.

(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)