October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. As geeks and parents of geeks, we know better than most that being a little bit different than everyone else can sometimes draw some unwanted attention. Having been bullied myself, I know firsthand how helpless and frustrating it can can be. Luckily, now that I’m a parent there are a lot more resources available than when I was a kid (you know, back when all those songs that Star-Lord played on his Walkman were actually being played on the radio).
National Bullying Prevention Month was started in 2006 by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center as a week-long awareness campaign. In 2010 the National Bullying Prevention Month was expanded to cover more than just awareness, but also things like activities and education and brought on more partners such as Facebook, CNN and Yahoo! Kids.
There are a ton of great resources out there for parents, students and teachers. Below are just a few:
– Pacer.org has a “What Parent Should Know About Bullying” set of resources on their site and Pacer also has some spinoff sites like:
- pacerteensagainstbullying.org
- pacerkidsagainstbullying.org
- Pacer also has a FaceBook page
– Stompoutbullying.org has a “Get Help Now” section of their website with chat line, parents resource page and an educators resource page.
– Stopbullying.gov compiles resources from various government agencies and is an excellent resource
When I was a kid I knew that once I got home the bullying would stop, Kids today are connected through mobile devices and social media 24/7 (cyber-bullying), so they don’t have the same safe haven many of us did when we were growing up. If you or someone you know is being bullied, use on of these resources and get help.
