Followed by up-to-date research by experts in the field

Myth #1: Bullying is an important part of growing up

Fact: Since it is so common in childhood, bullying is often treated as a normal part of growing up. Any type of harm or aggression towards others should not be treated as a natural stage of childhood.

Myth #2: Bullying will make kids more tough

Fact: Research has found the opposite is actually true. Kids who were bullied often have lower self-esteem and more fear and anxiety compared with their peers.

Myth #3: Boys will be boys

Fact: This implies that aggression is natural for boys and should be tolerated. There is never a good excuse for bullying.

Myth #4: Kids will tell an adult if bullying gets too much to handle

Fact: A recent nation-wide study found that 64% of children who were bullied did not tell anyone afterwards. Children are often afraid that the person who is bullying them will retaliate for tattling, or that adults will not act in a way that will help them.

Myth #5: Bullying is easy to recognize

Fact: While it is true that physical bullying (punching, kicking, and hitting) is often easy to detect, covert bullying (shaming, shunning, leaving kids out on purpose, etc.) is much harder to identify.

Myth #6: Kids are just teasing

Fact: All kids get teased on occasion. Teasing becomes bullying when the intent is to harm the child and the child does not understand the intent of the teasing.

Myth #7: Ignoring will make it go away

Fact: Even though this seems like the easiest solution, it could actually make the bullying worse for your child. This is because it could send a message that the child is unable to do anything about the bullying and could give the person who is bullying some satisfaction.

Read about how to talk to your child about bullying here: http://www.pacer.org/publications/bullypdf/BP-2.pdf