As a parent, one part of you teaches, protects and provides care to your son while the other part stands back and watches him jump in. Life experience is important yet it's often hard to watch.

Even if you've been around the block a time or two with your son's shenanigans, you have NO TOLERANCE when your son becomes a bullying victim.

And it's true - your son absolutely needs help.

Bullying is an ugly and difficult reality.

Maybe you even fantasize about teaching the bully a thing or two. But mostly, you worry. You worry about your son's physical well-being. You worry about his emotional well-being. And you worry about his social life. You know how destructive bullying can be. And the REALLY hard part is that you can't be there; the bullying occurs at school or at the bus stop. Your son feels particularly alone.

So what to do? Every situation is different and calls for a unique solution.

One thing you must do is help your son become more adept in dealing with bullying situations. Your son needs strategies and he needs emotional support. Here's where we can help you and your son. Message a Day can be there when you cannot. We will provide your son with coaching and support as he deals with the bullies in his life and we will help him - at exactly the right time of day.

• If your son has problems at the bus stop, send this message stream right before he heads out in the morning.

• If lunch time is stressful, choose lunch hour for the message delivery.

• Most importantly, CC yourself on the message stream so you can use the text messages for dialogue and discussion.

Your son will learn:

• How to respond - and how NOT to respond to a bully

• Why some bullies behave the way they do

• How to process feelings of embarrassment & shame

• How to deflect a bully's remarks

• The importance of reporting bullying behavior & seeking out a trusted adult

An important note: Because of socialization/masculinity issues, your son may not want you to intervene in a bullying situation directly. Your son may specifically ask you to let him handle the bullying situation on his own.

Only you can make the call about whether or not intervention is warranted, but in these instances, it is *especially important* to be available to your son at a moment's notice, dialogue with him EVERY DAY so that he can process any bullying interactions. This vigilance in communication will greatly impact his ability to successfully navigate the bullying.

This message stream is crafted specifically for middle school boys. They are at a tender and vulnerable age, yet they so want to be the tough guy. They need to know they are not alone. They need to know that it's not their fault they are being bullied. And they need to be built up.

Middle school is hard enough as it is. It's far more difficult for those who are bullied. My son was bullied every day in middle school. And I mean EVERY DAY. It was mostly verbal - with a shove thrown in every now and then. And it all occurred under the radar of adults. I remember those years well. We survived - and learned a lot about bullies, bullying, being bullied, and bystanders.

We can help. That's what we're here for.

Sign up today. You and your son will be glad for the support and guidance.

-Amy Sluss, RN and Co-Founder, Message a Day