British children: Bullying a top concern

LONDON, March 16 (UPI) -- When it comes to advice on bullying, British children say they would rather hear from mom than dad, a non-profit group says.

Research conducted by Relate for Parents, a Web site dedicated to helping parents with family relationships, indicates bullying is a major concern to 51 percent of children -- with 59 percent more boys worried than girls. Bullying ranked higher than relationships, drugs or sex as issues that concern children.

However, while 61 percent of fathers say they are comfortable giving advice to their children about bullying, only 17 percent of the children trust dad's advice while 59 percent of children would trust mom's.

The survey indicates 74 percent of children consider their mothers role models while 58 percent of children see their dads as role models.

"It's very encouraging that dads feel comfortable talking to their children about bullying, and children are willing to seek advice," Lin Griffiths, a family counselor at Relate for Parents, says in a statement. "However it is a concern that children don't trust the advice they are hearing from their dads."

No details were provided on when the survey was conducted, methodology or margin of error.