I have been saddened over the last few days about the story of parents who are suing a school after their teenage son committed suicide, apparently on the heels of being bullied and being told to “go shoot himself…that no one would care”.  There are a lot of forums out there encouraging people to weigh in on the question “Is the school responsible for not stepping in?”

I am not sure given all that is going on with our education system and the numerous problems with kids in most schools that education leaders can address bullying the way it should be addressed (no tolerance in my opinion should be the order of the day on bullying).  While I believe they should step in, I am confident that this is not at the top of the list of problems in our schools.  Bullying has been a typical behavior in schools (and companies) since the dawn of time.  And…what you need to know is that your child will not always tell you if they are being bullied.

But…there is one thing you can do as a parent:  Know the warning signs that your child is being bullied, and take the appropriate steps to get this resolved.  I am big on kids taking care of their own challenges, but if the bullying continues, as a parent, you need to step in and stand by your child and help them get the help they need to live a quality life.

Here are a few of the warning signs that your child may be being bullied.

Here are a few of the warning signs you may be being bullied at work (also a big issue that many young adults don’t talk about).

I am not big on moving kids to another school, but if you have walked through all of the procedures (having your child talk to your teacher, meeting yourself with the teacher and the principal), and your child is still being bullied, there is a very strong chance this will not go away (I’ve watched this numerous times).  Once a bully, always a bully, and it might just be time to make a change in school or work location.  As long as the bully is still on campus, if your child is being bullied, they will more than likely continue to be the target.

Did I get your attention with the title?

Good. I hope so.

In the book The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t, author Robert Sutton goes into a concise view of the jerks we have in many of our organizations around the country. He discusses corporate bullying, manipulation and control and gives some great advice on how to stop it. The sad thing is that in reading his book, I know a few people just like this, and I get e-mails occasionally from a few who I would never want to work with. It makes me sweat just thinking about it.

This post is one of the most important you are going to read this week. In light of what happened recently in Florida with a few teen girls beating up another girl (who by the way had been bullied and beat up by these girls for months), I have to take a stand and tell you this “Stop taking orders or working for/with a bully!” If we don’t stop it now, this is going to continue forever, and these corporate bullies are the people who are teaching our teens to go beat the s— out of another teen. I am so fired up about this story…it makes me sick!

Here are the signs that you are probably being bullied at work:

1) You are working day and night, only to be criticized by your boss or manager

2) You are being intentionally left out of meetings or social engagements with co-workers

3) You are hearing gossip about you from your work colleagues

4) You wake up in the morning, nauseated and with a headache, and you call in sick more than you know you should

5) You are doing work for your boss, and he/she is taking credit for your ideas and labor

6) You are noticing that you are being sabotaged at every turn

7) You can cut the tension with a knife

8)Your boss/manager is constantly asking you to work an ungodly schedule

So…if you are someone who is experiencing this, then please, please ask for help. And by all means, get out of the environment. Let’s put an end to this madness now!