Good-natured teasing is a way for people to communicate with each other. It’s a social exchange.

• Many kids tease each other to bond or form relationships. When the best kid on a basketball team misses a dunk, and a teammate says, “Hey, Magic, nice shot,” they can both laugh it off. The teasing shows each other they can joke around and still be friends.
• Teasing can also be fun. Think, for example, of the back-and-forth banter that happens in any romantic comedy.

Maybe you’ve heard that kids are teasing your child or your student at school. You can ask a few questions to see whether it’s good-natured or harmful:

• Are the kids who tease you your friends?
• Do you like when they tease you?
• Do you tease them back?
• If you told ...