Tip #1. Kids Who Bully

I'm Dr. Myrna Shure from Drexel University with today's parenting tip, brought to you by the New Jersey Governor's Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee.

Do kids who hurt others feel the pain of their victims? Do they even care about themselves?

Once I asked a 12-year-old what happened when he hit a child who refused a request. He said, "He hit me, but I don't care." Did he really care more about getting what he wanted than about what would happen to him?

Maybe he really did care but couldn't think of other ways to satisfy his needs.

Do children who hurt others become so consumed with getting what they want that they don't think about feelings at all?

Are they so used to getting hurt themselves that they become immune to what happens to them? And to others?

In light of escalating violence in our nation's youth, perhaps children who say, "I don't care," should make us take special pause.

Kids who can solve problems important to them now will be thinking, feeling human beings who will be able to solve problems important to them later.

I'm Dr. Myrna B. Shure.