As a parent of two children who have gone through a bullying episode, I can tell you that the emotional, mental and physical stress can be overwhelming for both children and parents. After all, as a parent your natural instincts tell you loud and clear to protect your children against the forces that cause them pain — whether it’s mental, emotional or physical.

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I haven’t put my kids on a school bus for the past six years.

The bus picks up students right next to our house at 8 o’clock. At 8:10 a.m. I load my children in the car and drive them to school. Some mornings we pick up a friend or two and cart them to the drop-off zone at the local elementary and middle schools.  Sometimes we sit in traffic right behind the same bus that picks up the neighbors.

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What do you do when your child is bullied? It’s one of the toughest things for a child to go through…and one of the worst things a parent can ever experience. When it happened to my son, I felt like I was stuck on the sidelines, talking to teachers and giving Alex advice at home — and hoping that my child would make it through OK.

But recently, there have been too many stories about bullying incidents which have taken a deadly turn. It’s made me realize that the sidelines are not a safe place for a parent to be anymore.

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If you’re the parent of a child with ADHD, check out the upcoming ADHD Family Summit. This is a free 6-week Teleseminar that you can listen to starting May 4th. Dr. Bob Myers, EP’s resident ADHD expert and creator of the Total Focus Program, will be participating in the ADHD Family Summit, along with 11 other professionals who specialize in the field of ADHD and ADD.

A few of the topics covered in the seminar:  “Understanding the ADHD Brain” with Theresa Cerulli, M.D.; “But My Child Is Really Bright…The Potential Overlap For Misdiagnosis And Overdiagnosis Of ADHD” with James T. Webb, Phd; “ADHD Medication Mastery - What You Really Need To Know About Safe And Effective Medication Management” with Kenny Handelman, M.D.; and “Mastering Total Focus To Help Support Your Loved Ones When They Need It the Most” with Dr. Bob Myers.

Starting May 4th, each one hour program will be held on Monday and Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. EDT. There will be a 24 hour replay in case you miss it live. All you have to do is register on the ADHD Family Summit site.

Hope this is helpful, and let us know if you participate!

It’s been a big year in parenting news, from “The World’s Meanest Mom” to the Nebraska Safe Haven law, controversy over the growing number of parents refusing vaccines, to the heartbreaking story, still unfolding, of Caylee Anthony. Here at EP, we’ve been blogging on these topics and more all year, and you’ve been responding in droves with your insights, opinions and questions. On behalf of everyone here at EP, thank you for reading and adding your voice to our community of 150,000 parents, grandparents, teachers, and caregivers.

So here they are, without further adieu — your top EP blog posts of 2008…

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As a parent blogger for EP, I’ve mostly drawn upon my memories of parenting my 15 year old son for material. But a recent post by “Mandy” under the blog about “Bullying and Sportsmanship” made me recall a truly seminal series of events in my childhood. It concerns bullying, group dynamics, school politics and how these things can make our children miserable, but how they can also make them into the kind of adults I think we need more of in this society.

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OK, I have to start this blog post by saying that I am not a violent person. I don’t even like to watch violent movies. But what do you do when your kid is getting hurt and no adults are stepping in to help? Do you encourage them to fight back, or run away every time? What if they can’t run away? And is there ever a good time to fight back?

The reaction I had last week surprised me.

2 Saturdays ago, my husband Joe took our son Alex to soccer practice. He’s on the kindergarten soccer team, which basically entails a bunch of five and six-year-olds swarming the soccer ball in a big kid-sized clump and having a little fun.

Except last week. You see, there was a first grader on the opposing team who was knocking kids down left and right, and hitting, pushing and kicking anyone in his way (yes, even the girls). For some reason, this boy’s coach wasn’t doing anything to stop him. The kid’s dad was standing behind my husband saying, in a loud voice, “Well, this is a rough sport, you know? That’s the way the game is played,” and kind of chuckling a little.

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School started off with a bang this year, and all seemed to be going well until last week, when my 5-year-old son began coming home and reporting that “no one would play with him” and “nobody wanted to be his friend.” My stomach twisted into a knot as I watched him dejectedly kicking the rocks on our way home from the bus stop.  Apparently, one little cherub in his class has even been saying things to him like, “I don’t like you. You can’t sit here. I wish you were in another school,” and of course, it happens to be the girl he has his first crush on. The mama bear in me wanted to march down to the school and pull some pony tails, but (with great restraint) I managed to control myself.

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