JOIN US"I have to say, with big ears and the name that I have, I wasn't immune. I didn't emerge unscathed," he told teachers, parents and government officials Thursday at a White House Conference on Bullying Prevention.
Obama mentioned several anti-bullying efforts under way in Washington, including the new website stopbullying.gov and initiatives by the Department of Education to get anti-bullying programmes up and running in US schools.
The president stressed that kids, parents and schools shouldn't approach bullying as business-as-usual.
"Because it's something that happens a lot, and it's something that's always been around, sometimes we've turned a blind eye to the problem. We've said, 'kids will be kids.' And so sometimes we overlook the real damage that bullying can do," he said.