Most school bus rides go smoothly and remain incident-free. But sometimes students need a little gentle discipline to encourage better bus behavior. What can you do to ensure that all students exhibit proper school bus conduct?

No one wants to hear that their child is acting aggressively toward other children. If your child steps over the line more than once, you may wonder how to tell if he or she is a bully.

We talked earlier about the types of bullying. But what is bullying, and how do you know if your child is involved?

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, bullying is undesired, aggressive behavior among students that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to repeat. Children who bully, and who are bullied, may suffer the consequences throughout life.

Bullies have existed since the dawn of humanity and they aren’t going away any time soon. However, as a parent in 2016, it’s important to understand the different types of bullying and the warning signs that your child may be a victim.

When you were growing up, bullies did things like give “Indian” burns, wet willies and swirlies, or knock your books out of your hands. Yet like everything else in this world, bullying has evolved. That’s not to say it’s better or worse than it was years ago — it’s just different.

The conversation around whether or not schools should use uniforms evokes passionate arguments from both sides. Those against uniforms claim they are unconstitutional and stifle freedom of expression. Proponents of uniforms claim they reduce violence and gang activity.

For many years, only private schools required students to wear uniforms. Today, a large percentage of public schools have also implemented a school uniform policy. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), from 1999–2000 to 2013–14, the percentage of public schools requiring students to wear uniforms increased from 12 to 20 percent. The general view is that uniforms are a sign of order and students in private schools have more discipline.

Each morning you send your child off to school to learn about the world and to grow as a person. As you give them a hug and watch them hop on the school bus, do you worry about bullying? Is your son or daughter a bullying victim? Is he or she a bully?

Bus drivers are not disciplinarians. Their job is to focus on the road, traffic lights, laws, and other motorists. Unlike school playgrounds and classrooms, there is generally no one to monitor student behavior or prevent bullying on school buses. Even when there is an additional school bus monitor on-board, he or she is often unable to see what is going on in the back of the bus. In addition, children often fear being ridiculed as “tattle-tales”and thus may not report incidents of school bus bullying to bus monitors.