Lamar Hawkins III, Shaq, the 14-year-old Greenwood Lakes Middle School student killed himself in a school bathroom Sept. 10. His parents have said their son was being bullied in school, but he did not show any suicidal signs. His parents reported that they did everything they could do by bringing reports of bullying to the school, but they had no idea that Lamar wanted to end his life. So what are parents to do about this? Watch the interview for some tips and ways to get into your kids lives and make it safe to talk to your kids about bullying.

Orlando Bullying Expert is interviewed by NBC. Read more bullying tips here

More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, COMBINED.

Who is bullied?
• 28% of middle schoolers
• 20% of high schoolers
• 14% of Students bullied on school property
• 12% bullied electronically
• 22% teased about weight, size, physical appearance

13 Million students are bullied in schools every year some even take their own lives.

Identifying the Bully Victims Symptoms: Depression, anxiety, cutting, change in eating hobbits, withdrawal, unmotivated to go to school

More bullying is happening because you do not have to face the person.

Cyber bullies can easily remain anonymous and can easily create fictitious characters because of technology
Applications – Snapchat, Kik or AskFM

Rather than get overwhelmed, parents need to have open communication with their children
Stats
– 30% of students who reported they had been bullied said they had at times brought weapons to school.
– A bully is 6 times more likely to be incarcerated by the age of 24.
– A bully is 5 times more likely to have a serious criminal record when he/she grows up.
– 2/3 of students who are targets become bullies.
– The average child has watched 8,000 televised murders and 100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school.
– Bullying was a factor in 2/3 of the 37 school shootings reviewed by the US Secret Service.
– 1 out of every 10 students drops out or changes schools because of repeated bullying.
– One out of every 20 students has seen a student with a gun at school.