School should be a safe place for children, where neither parents nor children should have to worry about violence or emotional harm. Unfortunately, that's not always the case in today's world. Violence exists in schools, and it can make both children and parents fearful.

Violence can range from bullying to fighting to the use of weapons on or near school property. Violence can occur during school hours or at after-hours activities like dances or sporting events. But schools, parents, and children can take certain steps to work together and keep kids safe at school.

Protecting your children starts with communication. Talk with them early and often to open the lines of communication. This will make it natural for them to talk to you if they are worried about their safety.

Parents should talk to their children about:

• Kids’ experiences at school. Talk about whether they're happy and feel safe, what the other students are like, if something is concerning them, or if they're being bullied.
• Right ways to handle anger. Fighting, aggression and violence aren't the answer to anger in any situation. Teach your kids to work on remaining calm and patient, talking out problems instead of fighting and seeking an adult's help when needed.
• Communicating about problems at school. Make sure your kids know to talk to you or a trusted teacher or administrator about someone who has behaved violently or made threats.

Bullying is a form of violence in which a child threatens, harasses, picks on or embarrasses another child. Bullying can take place in-person at school or through the Internet. This is known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can mean sending harassing emails, instant messages or text messages or posting harassing or belittling information on social media sites.

To read more about how you can help protect your kids from bullying and how to work with your children’s school on these issues, click here.