Demi Lovato, along with stars from ABC Family, has teamed up with Seventeen to “delete digital drama” and put an end to bullies on and off the internet. Demi is one of many stars who have faced bullies and she wants to put a stop to it! “The effects … are still with me to this day,” she admits.

As a contributing editor for Seventeen, Demi opened up about her struggle with being a victim of bullying in the past. “I was bullied when I was younger, it got so bad that I ended up leaving school because of it and the effects of that traumatizing time are still with me to this day,” she revealed in her article. Demi is a pretty tough cookie and we are glad she has been able to overcome bullies, one step at a time.

Stars such as Shailene Woodley (Amy Juergens from The Secret Life of the American Teenager) and Tyler Blackburn(Caleb Rivers from Pretty Little Liars) have joined their fellow ABC Family costars to promote the fight against bullying with their “delete digital drama” campaign.

Shailene said, “All it takes is to speak up, to say something. All it takes is to find that strength within yourself, to be the one to say something, to tell someone about it, to tell a teacher, tell a parent, to tell another peer—somebody—what’s going on.”

With young stars reaching out to their fans and the new film, Cyberbullying that just premiered on ABC Family, kids can see that their idols were bullied and overcame it so they can too! What powerful role models, we love them all!

Tyler said, “I think that the social media aspect of bullying is different because it spreads like wildfire immediately. So in that way, I think it’s almost more intense. But it’s just as hurtful as bullying someone face-to-face.”

Cyberbullying is a huge problem in the digital age and it is about time that someone did something about it. Go Seventeen and ABC Family!

“I think that some people use bullying as a way to fit in, and I’ve noticed it’s not just the “cool” kids doing it anymore. Sitting behind a computer gives people a sense of anonymity, but everyone needs to realize that words—even the ones they write online—have a strong power to hurt people” said Demi.

Wow, so true, words can totally hurt and even though we poke fun at bullies in films such as Mean Girls, bullying is a really serious issue. We are so proud of Demi for speaking up and her efforts for this cause are not lost on us. She is a rock star and we love that she cares about others!

What do you think about Demi being bullied?

Johnni Macke

More Demi!

1. Is Joe Jonas Apologizing To Demi Lovato In His New Song, ‘I’m Sorry’?
2. Demi Lovato Steals Something From The Kardashians For Her Music Video Shoot!
3. Wilmer Valderrama Confirms He’s Single. Demi Lovato Is Officially Back On The Market!

Bullying can be lethal — we’ve seen that.

So if you think your child has been the victim of a serious bullying incident or that the bullying is repetitive, you MUST interfere.

I am very sensitive to bullying because I was bullied as a child. It happened to me twice. The first time was when I was very young — just in first or second grade and I remember that children threw rocks at me.

The second time, I was emotionally bullied when I was in fourth or fifth grade. There were two girls who ganged up on me. They started making funny phone calls to my house and would call over and over and hang up when I answered. I would have to take the phone off the hook, but it would start right back up when I put it back on. This went on for months. It made me feel very insecure and left out because these two girls were ringleaders at school, I had no friends.

Fortunately, my mother interfered. She realized I was having problems at school and so she did two things. First, she started sending me to meet with a psychologist and second — she worked with me to find an activity that I could be good at. That turned out to be ice skating lessons which I went to three or four times a week very early in the morning before school at 5am.

I liked skating and although ironically it was very competitive and I didn’t make friends — it gave me confidence because I was so much better at skating than all the other kids at my school.

Then by the time I got to middle school, the girls who bullied me were in different classes and because we were separated, the bullying stopped.

Now today, I think that bullying can be much more intense for kids. If you can see or sense that something is wrong with your child and you suspect bullying you must go to the school and talk to the principal.

Join the PTA and  go to the meetings. Often parents involved in the PTA often know what’s going on with bullying situations at the school and they can fill you in!

Also make friends with other parents in your child’s class or classes. Then if you find out that your child is being bullied you can more easily talk to them and enlist their help in speaking to their own children.

Now, if your child is in middle or high school, the bullying can be even more serious – it can be cyberbullying -and you have to be invasive. You need to know their facebook password and you must check their pages.

Be Prepared to take Extreme Measures! If your child is really being humiliated and terrified by bullying you may need to pull them out of their current school immediately and register them in a new school, even if you have to move towns.

You can’t ignore how emotionally devastating, bullying can be and how it has recently lead to several tragic teen suicides.

I think kids deserve a second chance. They shouldn’t have to suffer so terribly that they would contemplate suicide.

If your child is telling you that the bullying is so bad that they have to get out  of school — then get them out. Like I said before, bullying can lethal and it’s your job to protect your child!

–Jill Zarin

In the wake of a number of suicides across the U.S., a study reveals that cyber bullying is the number one fear that parents have for their children. Do you monitor your kid’s online time, HollyMoms?

As if parents don’t have a enough to worry about when it comes to the safety of their kids — the popularity of cell phones, social networking sites and blogs has caused even more concern. According to a survey conducted by care.com, which offers babysitting and nanny services, one in three adults with kids between the ages of 12 and 17 worry more about online bullying than kidnapping, terrorism, car accidents or suicide. “Mean kids and bullies are not new, but social media networks and cell phones are making bullying more anonymous,” explains care.com’s editor-in-chief Wendy Sachs. “That is a new danger. Parents are genuinely afraid.”

Bruce Willis has advice on how to outsmart a bully

Parents of even younger children (12 and under) are most concerned about kidnapping but cyber bullying came in a a very close second, with one in four parents fearing for the safety of their kids online.

Here’s how to protect your kid from being bullied online

The recent slew of cyber bulling-related suicides among school students proves that this is a serious issue. HollyMoms, have your kids ever been attacked online?

As a result of this new found internet violence, three-quarters of the parents surveyed are now closely monitoring their kid’s text messages and online activity. Do you keep a close eye on all of your cildren’s online activity?

–Amy L. Harper

The news that made every mother shudder and cry this week is the tragic story of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers student who took his own life after online bullying made him believe he had no option other than suicide.

Online bullying has become an epidemic and Tyler Clementi‘s death is the fourth in a string of kids who have chosen to end their lives rather than continue being teased and bullied. Our kids spend so much time in a virtual world that it is hard for some parents to relate to how the bullying happens and how we can protect our children, when the violence is happening off the playground and on the Internet. HollyBaby.com asked psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert for his advice on how to protect our kids from online attacks. Here are his 6 tips.

Experts warn polygamy parents- you are hurting your children!

1. Know the signs of a child being bullied: feeling upset when online, withdrawal, not wanting to go to school, sad, depressed.

2. Do not allow your child to keep a computer in their bedroom. Keep the computer in a central location.

3. Educate your child on what cyber-bullying is so that they can recognize it. Let them know what is acceptable online behavior and what’s unacceptable — provide examples.

Do your kids have a list of school complaints?

4. Encourage them to come to you if they suspect someone is bullying them.

5. Take advantage of computer software that helps you to weed out online predators and the like.

6. Encourage your child make friends offline and have a strong social network. Cyber bullies usually target kids they feel are different or isolated and shy away from those they deem to have a strong group of friends.