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Children should always be brave and do something about bullying. It's not okay to stand by and let it happen. Bullies thrive off secrecy. Children should tell someone if they see someone being bullied.

Within childhood behaviors, there are known behaviors; there's teasing and there's name-calling, and different kinds of things happen as kids start to socialize. And then there's serious bullying, and then there's actual aggression and behavioral problems. But you can't put it all under the tent of bullying.

Many kids who are bullied feel helpless. Sometimes, they think the only thing they can do is hope the problem will go away. But there are things you can do to get some control in the situation and it starts with developing a strategy and a support system.

As kids, there's somehow the fear that these bullies can end your life if they want to. Everything is blown up, and occasionally that kind of awful thing does happen.

A lot of kids are bullied because of their sexual identity or expression. It's often the effeminate boys and the masculine girls, the ones who violate gender norms and expectations, who get bullied.

The whole bullying issue has really struck a nerve with me. It affects so many different types of people at a vital time in their lives.

For too long, our society has shrugged off bullying by labeling it a 'rite of passage' and by asking students to simply 'get over it.' Those attitudes need to change. Every day, students are bullied into silence and are afraid to speak up. Let's break this silence and end school bullying.

My message to kids who bully other kids is: You know it's wrong! What's really going on? Try not to make somebody else's life miserable because you are.

My kids are all pretty big and tough and strong, and I don't worry about them being bullied - the reverse, be kind to people and don't ever be a bully yourself, and I think they've followed that.

As for kids who are struggling personally, ignore the bullies! Who cares what they think? A lot of the time, they're not thinking, so you shouldn't take their words to heart. Ignore, ignore, ignore, and keep pushing forward.