Archive for September, 2011

Re-thinking the “Drama” Approach to Bullying

656
13 years
by in anger, Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, cyberbullying, friends, internet, kids, Parenting, parents

Please check out this is great, thought-provoking op-ed piece from the NY Times.  I whole-heartedly agree that with the authors that:

Interventions must focus on positive concepts like healthy relationships and digital citizenship rather than starting with the negative framing of bullying. The key is to help young people feel independently strong, confident and capable without first requiring them to see themselves as either an oppressed person or an oppressor.

It’s the social worker in me, I suppose; I am a strengths-perspective kinda girl.  In my new book, this is the approach I take.    While the book title Friendship & Other Weapons is used to convey to adult readers the nature of how girl bullying is acted out within relationships, girl participants will come to know their membership as part of a Real Friendships group.  As such, the solution-focused lessons, engaging group activities and relevant discussions will help girls cope with “drama” in honest, relationship-enhancing, self-affirming ways.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/opinion/why-cyberbullying-rhetoric-misses-the-mark.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

3 Strategies to Teach Your Kids How to Express Anger Effectively

10
13 years
by in anger, assertiveness, Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, Parenting

Have you ever been in a situation where you were so overwhelmed with feelings of anger that you were at a loss for words? You had the presence of mind to know all of the things that you shouldn’t say, but weren’t quite sure how to express your true feelings without damaging your relationship.

Adults often struggle with effectively communicating their angry feelings. For children, this challenge is doubly difficult; kids don’t want to get in trouble for expressing themselves aggressively, but they often lack the skills for communicating assertively.

Parents can help their kids develop specific skills for assertive anger expression.  Check out these three strategies, excerpted from, How to Be Angry: An Assertive Anger Expression Group Guide for Kids and Teens.

 

Losing Mom of the Year…Again…

8
13 years
by in Being a Mom, kids, Parenting

It’s great to see that my big flops as a Mom can get me published on Psychology Today and even featured in their Notable Quotes!

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/passive-aggressive-diaries/201109/there-goes-mom-the-year-honors-my-award-winning-lesson-person

Happy Day of the Girl

3
13 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, media messages, Parenting

Today is International Day of the Girl!  To celebrate the occasion, New Moon Girls is officially kicking off their Girl Caught Campaign to help raise awareness–and build resilience–in girls about the impact of media messaging.  Check out their site, download your own set of Girl-Caught stickers, and help change the world, one girl at a time:

http://blogs.newmoon.com/luna-blog/2011/the-day-of-the-girl-is-finally-here-lets-celebrate-with-girl-caught/

 

Stop Bullying: Speak Up

5
13 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, cyberbullying, kids, Parenting

If you didn’t see it live, check out AC 360’s first segment from tonight’s broadcast, on the subject of Stopping Bullying.  A sad, sad story about the recent suicide of a 14 year old young man from New York, a maddening and unconscionable set of interviews from claim-to-be-Christian groups, and a brilliant pair of interviews from Rosalind Wiseman and Rachel Simmons.

Also, check out Anderson Cooper’s Stop Bullying: Speak Up Pledge via Facebook.

Girl-Caught is a Great Activity to Build Awareness in Your Daughter

0
13 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, media messages, Parenting

In honor of September 22’s Day of the Girl, New Moon Girls is launching its Girl-Caught campaign, designed to give each of us an empowering way to comment on media messages about girls and women.

You’ve heard about baby beauty pageants, lingerie marketed to pre-schoolers, and JC Penney’s, “I”m too pretty to do my homework” T-shirt.  The Girl-Caught campaign aims to raise awareness about these ubiquitous and degrading media messages because, as I write in Friendship & Other Weapons, “When girls are aware of how entertainment and advertising images are altered, they are better able to resist the pressures of “measuring up” to the images.”

Get involved in Girl-Caught with your own daughter.  Log in to the New Moon Girls site to download or print out your own Girl-Caught stickers.  Paste them to the negative or positive Girl-Catches you find, then upload them to Girl-Caught!  This is a great, interactive campaign that parents and kids can enjoy–and learn through–together. 

Most of all, Girl-Caught “encourages girls to think critically about media images and to become informed consumers rather
than passive recipients of the media.” (Whitson, 2011).

 

Girl Caught Respect

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13 years
by in Uncategorized

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13 years
by in Uncategorized

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13 years
by in Uncategorized

CNN Stays True to Stop Bullying: Speak Up Campaign

469
13 years
by in bullying, cyberbullying

Check out the Stop Bullying: Speak Up Campaign.  Great to see organizations staying true to their committment to prevent and stop bullying, even after the red camera light stops flashing.  Way to go, CNN and Anderson Cooper!

http://rosalindwiseman.com/2011/09/19/stop-bullying-speak-up-campaign-can-change-lives/

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Signe Whitson is an author and educator on bullying, crisis intervention, and child and adolescent emotional and behavioral health. In her articles, books, and training workshops, Signe provides down-to-earth, practical advice for professionals and parents on navigating the daily challenges of living and working with children, tweens and teens.

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