No one wants to hear that their child is a bully. But if complaints are building up from children, teachers or other parents that your son or daughter is bullying other kids, it's a good idea to listen.
Bullying has gained media attention recently because of the shootings at Virginia Tech. The shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, was bullied in high school, according to some of his former classmates. Many victims of bullying later become bullies themselves, experts say.
Children and teens who are bullies are more likely to become criminals than other children. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, boys who were identified as bullies in middle school were four times as likely as their non-bullying peers to have more than one criminal conviction by the time they're 24.
And it's not just a boy problem. Girls bully other girls, but in different ways. Although these methods may not be physical, emotionally they are just as damaging, experts say. Cyber-bullying—harassing and insulting someone through email, Web sites, text messages or instant messaging—frequently happens with girls as the bully and the bullied. (Boys can be cyber-bullied too.)
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