Kids think bullies are cool: No wonder anti-bullying campaigns are a tough sell among middle schoolers. It turns out that seventh and eighth graders rate bullies as the coolest kids in class. Researchers studied nearly 2,000 Los Angeles middle school students -- surveying them about which kids were considered the “coolest” as well as which were most likely to “start fights” or “spread nasty rumors.” Often, those named the most popular were also labeled the most aggressive. The researchers suggest that one way to combat the problem is to shift the focus from changing the behavior of the bullies to teaching other kids that it’s wrong to allow the bullies to thrive.
Read more: School bullies are often popular
Your child’s shot could benefit you: A new study found that when children are vaccinated against rotavirus (a highly contagious disease that causes severe diarrhea and vomiting) it can indirectly help protect unvaccinated adults, too. Since the widespread introduction of the pediatric vaccine around 2006, cases of rotavirus in both adults and children have dropped dramatically.
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