Recently, four football players in a Tampa Bay Middle School raped a fellow classmate with a broomstick and hockey stick. A couple of months ago, an elementary student committed suicide because of bullying. According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, about 30% of youth in the U.S. are involved in bullying in some way -- that's over 5.7 million young people. A survey of students in grades sixth through tenth, noted that 13% of those students bullied others, 11% were victims, and 6% were bullying others because they were victims of bullying.

Bullying is not new, but kids are becoming more aggressive and creative. If you're like me, you might think that a bully is someone who has low self-esteem and picks on kids in order to feel powerful and boost their self-esteem. It turns out, I'm wrong. According to Dr. Joel Haber, clinical psychologist, founder of RespectU.com, and author of Bullyproof Your Child for Life, understanding empathy factors into why kids become bullies.

"Some kids who become bullies, for some reason, don't 'get' empathy. They don't understand when they hurt someone else that they're actually making someone feel bad. Kids who don't develop empathy are more likely to develop more bully behavior," Haber says.

I thought a kid having low self-esteem or a kid who is constantly angrry was more likely to be a bully, but Dr. Haber says that's not quite true. "Not all angry kids are bullies. Bullies actually have fun at other people's expense, " Dr.Haber says. "They have fun picking on kids. They  like it and it makes them feel excited."

It may be fun for the bully, but for the victim, it's horrifying. Being a victim can cause a kid to shut down completely and be unwilling to talk to their parents. According to Dr. Haber, kids give signs and parents need to be able to read those signs and act immediately. "A lot of signs of bullying look like any other things," Dr. Haber says. "If a kid doesn't want to go to school ...or wants to avoid social situations they were in before, or really likes playing a sport and then doesn't want to play that sports anymore...it's kind of like a clue that something is not going right."

A kid doesn't have to make a drastic change to show he is being bullied. As soon as a kid starts to slowly change their daily routine, it's time to start questioning what triggered the change. Dr. Haber emphasizes talking to your child consistently and making sure your child understands that he or she can come to you for anything.

Now, there's a more indirect form of bullying also on the rise. "Cyber bullying is increasing right now. It's being done through photographs and cell phones." Dr. Haber adds, "In England, a group of kids would mob a kid and beat them up and take pictures and post them onn the internet. That was the form of bullying people were doing." So, in addition to in-person bullying at school, kids have to worry about being bullied via the internet.

On a more positive note, Dr. Haber also mentions a fun exercise he practices with kids that parents can copy in order to protect their child from bullies. "I sometimes play the victim and let them be the bully. I show them the kind of reaction bullies want and then I show them the right reaction," Dr. Haber says. "Then, I have them role play both sides. Kids start to feel like, 'Wow, I can learn what it is like to shut off the bullying' -- that is so powerful for them."

A fun interactive simple role play can make a difference in a kid's life. But remember, the trick is not responding to the bully; it's ignoring the bully that will cause him or her to back off.