Crosswalk:  What kind of parenting advice do you have for someone whose child is being harassed at school?  Do you have any practical tips that you can share with them?

Peretti:  Well, my first thing that I always say is get proactive and do something about it.  One of the biggest mistakes parents make for generations is make excuses for it.  Just excuse it. "Oh just ignore them.  Oh just stay away from them.  Oh don't worry about it.  You'll outgrow it.  Da da da da da...   You know what you're really telling your child is don't come to me when you have a problem.  I'm not going to help you.  You're on your own kid.  Tough nuggets.  You have to understand, like when I was a kid, because of the attitude of parents and teachers, I thought this was supposed to be happening to me.  It's part of my educational experience.  I'm supposed to be here.  I'm supposed to be picked on.  I'm supposed to be harassed and molested.  I often compare it to a child being molested by a family member.  On the one hand they're being told that this is okay, this is our secret, that you're supposed to go through this, don't whine about it, don't tell anybody...blah, blah, blah.  And I suppose they want to be a good little boy or girl, so they don't say anything, they obey and they say, "Look kid," but something in their heart is telling them that this should not be happening to me.  That's how it was for me.  The teachers allowed it, turned their backs on it, made excuses for it.  My parents sent me there, I had to be there.  Nobody ever told me, I was never told, "You know what?  You should not have to put up with this and you are not to be treated this way."