With the school year starting, now is a good time to talk to your children about bullying.

Bullying is a serious matter.

It has been a problem at schools probably as long as there have been schools.

But the advent of social media has extended bullying from the school day to 24/7.

According to national statistics from stopbullying.gov, a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 28 percent of middle and high school students in the United States have experienced bullying and 70.6 percent of young people say they’ve seen bullying in their schools. While it can be seen in any age group, bullying is more commonly seen in middle schools.

Bullying is defined by the American Psychological Association as “a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort.”

And despite what movies and television might tell us, there is no single stereotype of a bully.

According to the HHS, bullies can be either well connected socially or marginalized, and may be bullied by others as well. Those who are bullied sometimes bully others in turn. Youth who both bully others and are bullied are at greatest risk for subsequent behavioral, mental health and academic problems.

Just like there’s no one stereotype of a bully, there’s no easy solution to it.

Students, school staff and parents must be educated about cyberbullying.

They must be informed of how to recognize when it’s happening, how to prevent it and its dangers.

Schools must listen to students who say they are being bullied, whether its physical bullying or cyberbullying.

Students and parents alike must also be taught about the effects of bullying and about how we should treat each other, both kids and adults.

No one is born a bully.

Some kids are bullied themselves and bully in turn.

Others pick it up from the adults in their lives, or older kids.

We all must work hard to promote kindness, both in school and outside of it.