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The old phrase,  "Sticks and Stones Will Break My Bones But Words Will Never Hurt Me" is really not true.  Words can hurt and do hurt.  Especially in the middle and high school years, mean words can hurt and can even cause physical illness.

A recent story from the United Kingdom about Faith Hawley is proof that words DO hurt.  Faith Hawley is a teen girl who went bald due to the stress of being bullied everyday at school.  Faith is 14 years old and is now being homeschooled.  She is trying to gain her health back and trying to grow back her hair.

Bullies are bad.  Bulllying is bad.  But a new study shows that being a bully can also mean being popular.

The "mean girls" AND boys who gossip and spread rumors at school might make life miserable for some other students---but this behavior also makes them popular.   Teens that are in cliques that exclude and gossip about other students are often the popular kids.  In short, the bullies might not be LIKED by the majority of the students BUT the mean students are often regarded as popular.

I know that cliques have been around forever.  But is it me or does it seem like middle school and high school...even elementary school tales of bullying are meaner and more frequent than in the past?  I'd like to know what other moms and dads think.  If your child is being bullied or if there is a bully in your child's school, then here are some resources for you to read up on.

• "Bully-Proofing Your School: A Comprehensive Approach for Elementary Schools," by Cam Short-Camilli et al

• "Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls," by Rachel Simmons

• "Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence," by Rosalind Wiseman