Obama hosts anti-bullying conference at the White House

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Today, President Obama and the First Lady related to Americans as parents of two young girls who are worried about bullying at school. They hosted the first White House conference to prevent bullying and invited 150 parents, teachers, students and educators to find solutions.

Rosalind Wiseman is a recognized expert on bullying. She's the author of Queen Bees and Wannabees, and she's a mom. She offered guidance to both kids and parents about coping with bullying.

For kids, Wiseman stressed: "It is not weak to ask for help from an adult."

For parents whose kids tell them about bullying, she had this advice:

"But what I would suggest you say is three things. You say: I'm really sorry this happened, thank you for telling me, and together we're going to think this through."

Dr. Janaa Juvonen is a professor in Developmental Psychology at UCLA. Her research findings shed light on how to respond to bullying.

"How parents chose to deal with their concerns with cyberbullying is really, really important."

90% of the teens she surveyed said that they don't tell an adult when they got cyberbullied or saw someone else being bullied online.

They're afraid, she says, of having their internet freedom limited. They do not want their parents to take away facebook.

Often school administrators throw up their hands in frustration at their inability to influence what their students are doing online. But Juvonen established a strong connection between online bullying and school bullying. 85% of the teens she surveyed who were cyber bullied were also bullied at school. So administrators can intervene at school and make a difference in online interactions.

Last October, Obama participated in the "It Gets Better" campaign with a video message of his own.

"But what I want to say is this: You are not alone. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't do anything to deserve being bullied. And there is a whole world waiting for you, filled with possibilities. There are people who love you and care about you, just the way you are."

He signed off with the campaign's motto:

"And every day, it gets better."

Along with the conference, the Obama Administration launched a new site dedicated to anti-bullying resources, Stopbullying.gov. He's also pledged $132 million to states to fight bullying.