15-year-old Audrie Potts from Saratoga, California, took her life after expressing her despair online about being sexually assaulted and cyber-bullied. Her parents only found these messages when searching for reasons after her death. According to some estimates, teens spend half their lives online. These electronic worlds are too dangerous for our kids to live in without the knowledge and guidance of the adults who love them.

Too many times, adults don’t discover online messages about cyber-bullying, parties with heavy drinking, or warning signs of despair or violence until after something terrible has happened, when the opportunity to take protective action is gone.

Last week, I had the honor of speaking at a press conference held by San Fransisco District Attorney George Gascon to kick off their subcommittee’s “Bye Bye Bullying” video contest for middle and high school students in San Francisco, for which I am a Judge and Kidpower is a co-sponsor.

Bullying Prevention Expert and Kidpower Leader, Irene van der Zande, calls for adults to turn anxiety into positive action to stop bullying. Here are five practical and positive actions adults can start immediately to turn the tide of bullying and help create schools, neighborhoods and communities of caring, respect and safety for all of their members.

Kidpower responds to recent child sex abuse scandals by partnering with the Positive Coaching Alliance and has provided free webinars and other resources educate and support a vital group of caring adults in the prevention of child abuse and bullying in youth sports. We hope that the coaches, youth leaders, and parents we can reach through our partnership with PCA will have a strong ripple effect to helping make kids safer and promoting our One Million Safer Kids Initiative.