Most kids get teased or bothered by a friend, classmate or sibling on the playground. But when it becomes hurtful and constant, it can affect your child’s mental and physical well-being and it needs to stop. Bullying can escalate from name-calling and mocking to confrontations with tragic consequences. Of course, it’s not confined to the playground.

Bullying can happen anywhere and it may not be easy to spot, especially with kids tuning into chat rooms and social media sites and bombarding each other with text messages. So it’s important to take bullying seriously and talk with your child and listen intently. Information on how bullying, on and off the playground, can affect your child and where you can turn for help as well as tips on teaching your child not to be a bully are available at http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/bullies.html.