Liz Atwood wonders what bullying is these days with the heightened awareness of the issue in this week's Tween Tuesday:

We’ve all heard the horrific stories about children committing suicide after being subjected to merciless bullying. Schools, politicians and child advocates have been working recently to raise awareness of the issue, coming up with educational programs and laws to protect children from harassment by their peers. Even President Obama weighed in at a conference earlier this month describing his own experiences of being bullied as a kid. But I’m not sure all this new attention is helping us understand what bullying really is.

Last week, my 9-year-old came home from school with a note saying he had been kicked by a girl. When he told me what happened, his first words were “I was bullied.” I should explain that my son is big for his age and not the kind of child one would think of as a victim. In fact, he had to serve after-school detention several months ago when he and some of his pals dared another boy to lick a toilet.

So all this brings up the question, when is bad behavior really bullying? I’m not condoning either the toilet seat incident or the kicking, but I don’t think either was what I consider bullying. But my son’s first reaction when the girl kicked him was to tell her he was going to report her for bullying. I think we need a better understanding of what bullying is and make sure our children get the message.

Do you sense the same confusion in your schools?