It’s only a little over two months since school began and already I’m seeing children who are being bullied in school, or having school-aged clients talk about seeing others being bullied in their schools and fearing that might be them someday. In either case, these children are tense and anxious about going to school. Whether a child is a target of a bully or not, bullying creates the same kind of toxic atmosphere that second and third-hand smoke does. Though I have helped many children who were bullied in my practice and devoted an entire chapter to the subject in my book, I along with other mental health professionals and educators understand that preventing bullying will take more than a village.

In a New York Times, October 25, 2010 article by Sam Dillon, titled, "Help Stop Bullying, U.S. Tells Educators," Russlynn H. Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights states, "Folks need to wake up,…We have a crisis in our schools in which bullying and harassment seems to be a rite of passage, and it doesn’t need to be that way." Ms. Ali continues …"Harassment creates a hostile environment…so as to interfere with or limit a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or opportunities offered by a school."

And bullying can begin early. In her New York Times article on October 8, 2010, titled, "The Playground Gets Even Tougher," Pamela Paul begins with a case of bullying in kindergarten. Michelle Anthony, a psychologist and author of "Little Girls Can Be Mean," who is cited in the article states, "Girls absolutely exclude one another in kindergarten…You don’t expect to run into…meanness in a 7-year-old." Paul cites these statistics: "According to a Harris survey of 1, 144 parents nationwide, 67 percent of parents of 3-to-7 year olds worry that their children will be bullied. Research indicates that their concerns are justified."

Susan Engel and Marlene Sandstrom in their July 22, 2010, New York Times article titled, "There’s Only One Way to Stop a Bully" write, "…our research on child development makes it clear that there is only one way to truly combat bullying. As an essential part of the school curriculum, we have to teach children how to be good to one another, how to cooperate, how to defend someone who is being picked on and how to stand up for what is right."

Please follow links in the article names to read them, along with another one by Riva Richmond titled, "Some Ways to Thwart an Online Bully."

Readers please use this blog as a forum to comment on your child’s school anti-bullying campaign or send along experiences, comments and questions.