Moms Talk: How Do You Handle Bullying?

Words do hurt is the message behind an achingly sad YouTube video featuring an eighth-grade Westport student.

Alye looks into the camera and holds up simple signs to tell her story.

"Think before you say things. It may save lives" she writes as the story unfurls her pain at the hands of bullies who have called her all sorts of wretched names since she was in the sixth grade.

"I'm in therapy/guidance more than my classes," another of the signs states.

Shortly after the video was published, Alye’s story received national attention through CBS's "The Early Show." It showed portions of the three-minute video, and then contributor Dr. Jennifer Hartstein talked to a panel of teens about bullying.

As of Wednesday, the YouTube video has had nearly 500,000 hits.

While the video put a spotlight on bullying, eradicating the issue is not an easy task.

Through the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, the Seneca Valley School District has strict anti-bullying measures in place. According to the district website, held a bully prevention kick-off in October that encouraged students to S.T.A.M.P out bullying through staying away from bullies, telling someone, avoiding bad situation, making friends and projecting confidence.

But Moms Talk council member Wendy Sybert said bullying is still very much an issue in schools. After her own son was bullied, she was shocked and saddened to find out he had joined in the teasing of other students as a way of self-preservation.

Here’s what she had to say:

“My 11-year-old son informed us recently that he befriended a boy because the other boy was making fun of him. This boy was teasing him about various things, so our son decided the best way to handle it was to become his friend and join him in making fun of others.

This proceeded to get our son in a few very bad situations and into trouble with the teacher and school. Our son knows we feel very strongly about bullying, and it is never acceptable to bully anyone.

I was devastated when we were told he was joining in on bullying someone else. Of course, as soon as we were told about this we let him know that it was wrong and that bullying for any reason was not acceptable.

We told him he just needed to try to stay as far away from this other boy as possible and to ignore any comments or remarks that were made toward him.

I know that is very hard for kids to do, but what else could he do? What would you do if your child was bullying or being bullied?”

What do you moms out there think? Do you think anti-bullying programs in schools work? What is the solution?

As always, Moms Talk is open to anyone who wants to comment. If you have a question you would like our panel of experts to answer, please send it to Jessica.Sinichak@patch.com