Assessing Bullying in Middle School

Conflict is just going to happen in life, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. In middle school, you can pretty much bet the farm that your child will either encounter a bully, or, at some point, engage in bullying behavior himself (or herself, no discriminating here, folks).

According to the National Survey of Children's Health, 24 percent of parents report their child bullies or is cruel at least some of the time. Thirty-five percent of parents say that they are concerned about their child being bullied at school.

What can you do? Know the signs of bullying, and being able to recognize that conflict has gone too far. Also, know that youngsters who bully others and are bullied themselves are likely to have certain risk factors, such as social isolation, and serious academic challenges.