JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida is getting some positive recognition as one of the 10 best states at controlling bullying in schools.
According to the site Wallet Hub, Florida is ranked 10th out of 42 states and the District of Columbia who were studied for the analysis.
Dr. Lynn Waddleton, a local clinical psychologist, said she knows of many schools who have worked hard to combat the problem, so she says it's nice to see the hard work of Florida schools, parents and students is paying off.
"Some kids do internalize and hold in painful things that happen during the day where others may act out and be aggressive," said Waddleton.
Waddleton said because kids respond differently, it can be difficult to tell if your child has been bullied. She's pleased that Florida is ranked in the top 10 for states who are best controlling bullying, but she said it's a problem that will never go away so school administrators and parents need to practice prevention.
"Implementation -- we all need to work harder on very difficult especially in larger schools to know student population, being able to know whats going on with students," said Waddleton.
According to National Education Association, every day more than 160,000 children miss school because they're scared of being bullied. This analysis by Wallet Hub looked at 42 states and the District of Columbia to determine the 10 best and worst states at controlling bullying they looked at things like: bullying incident rates online, bullying incident rates on school property,the cost or truancy for schools and more.
Waddleton said it's important to, not only make sure your child isn't getting bullied, but also that they're not being the bully.
Parents said it's nice to hear Florida get this recognition.
"Bullying is a crime these days and so many kids get hurt from bullying and they're afraid and they get intimidated, so it's not to retaliate but to tell an adult whats going on so the problem can be corrected," said Rosalyn Sumter.
According to Wallet Hub, here are the best states at controlling bullying:
According to Wallet Hub, here are the worst states at controlling bullying:
For more information on this study, click HERE.