Pediatricians take on bullies, dating violence

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CHICAGO - The American Academy of Pediatrics wants doctors to take an active role in preventing bullying in schools and violence among dating teenagers.

The academy gives doctors tips for doing that in an updated policy being published in the July issue of its journal, Pediatrics.

Doctors should tell parents to talk to their children about bullying, teach children how to resolve conflicts and promote respectful relationships in dating, the policy says. It also suggests doctors volunteer to talk about the topics at schools, churches and youth organizations.

The doctors' group has published educational materials on bullying and dating before, but this is the first time the policy has addressed the issues in detail.

What ever happened to parental responsibility? Or even personal responsibility for that matter. I personally don't see how pediatricians can do much of anything
to curb date violence or bullying. Shouldn't that be in the realm of the counsels/psychologist/sociologists/school administration and clergy men.

A lot of children being bullied will never speak up or tell an adult what is happening. Therefor it cannot be the responsibilty of the school nor the parents all of the time.

A big problem that occurs with children that are bullied is physcological stress
and damage that can occur in later life. That can result in the child being abusive as an adult, and/or illnesses like depression. This can lead to youth suicide.

I think it is a good idea for doctors to step in to investigate bullying at a more medical level rather then traditional.

Welcome SD.

I see what you mean. Violence of any type by kids on their peers, needs to be addressed by everyone. In this day and age, growing up is stressful enough without the added BS of another kid assaulting you.