Archive for July, 2012

What to Do When a Fake Facebook Page is Created About You

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This article from the Cyberbullying Research Center provides great, detailed information and instructions for kids (and their parents!) on what to do if a fake Facebook profile is created about them.  Check it out!

 

http://cyberbullying.us/blog/help-with-fake-facebook-profile-pages.html

 

 

Bullying Runs Deep: Breaking the Code of Silence That Protects Bullies via HuffPost

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HuffingtonPost writer, Michelle Baker, has shared this amazingly honest and deeply touching piece about bullying…by children, by adults, by those most trusted and most able to wound.  I was struck by each and every paragraph of her article, but particularly by these words, which I know firsthand to be true from having worked as a therapist with traumatized children and adolescents:

I am always amazed when I hear anyone say that teenagers act out simply “to get attention.” Of course, they do. Children act out because they do need attention: positive, proactive, compassionate, responsive and responsible attention. I am astonished by how many adults don’t do anything because they don’t know what to do or ignore the situation because they don’t want to acknowledge that they might have to change. For a child in crisis whose parents and adult community have not shown the ability to appropriately respond in times of need, radical acts are often the only measures a child has in order to get someone to pay attention and take action.

 

Please check out: Bullying Runs Deep: Breaking the Code of Silence That Protects Bullies

 

Keep Calm & Carry On? Nah! I’d Rather be Changing the World!

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What Moms Can Do About Kids Who Want to Be Sexy

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As I started reading this article, “Why 6-Year Old Girls Want to Be Sexy,” I could hear my mind saying “UGH!” and thinking about the conversations I have been having…and will need to continue to have…with my two young daughters.

As I got to this section, however, I breathed a bit of a reassured sigh–validated that despite the challenges from the media, there is indeed much that Moms (and Dads and other caregivers!) can do about sexualized media messages:

“Mothers feel so overwhelmed by the sexualizing messages their daughters are receiving from the media that they feel they can do nothing to help,” she said. “Our study’s findings indicate otherwise — we found that in actuality, mothers are key players in whether or not their daughters sexualize themselves. Moms can help their daughters navigate a sexualizing world by instructing their daughters about their values and by not demonstrating objectified and sexualized behaviors themselves.”

Check out the whole article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/17/6-year-old-girls-sexy_n_1679088.html?ref=topbar

If you are interested in hearing more about what parents can do to help their kids become critical thinkers and consumers of media, I have a few other recommendations:

  • First…check out Friendship & Other Weapons, of course, and the featured sections on helping young girls examine music lyrics, advertising, social media, and technology.  My article “Thinner, Sexier, Hotter” talks about sexualization in media and gives adults practical ideas for helping kids think critically about these messages.
  • Next, check out Pigtail Pals and Ballcap Buddies, led by the tireless Melissa Wardy who always has something bold, brave, and inspiring to say about the impact of media sexualization on kids.  Mattel and Monster High–watch out!
  • Third, check out the innovative work of Ines Almeida and her new online marketplace that celebrates childhood without limits and gender stereotypes.
  • And fourth, New Moon Girls is a great publication and option for young girls who want to be inspired by their peers and celebrate all the things that girls can do without the limits of having to be “sexy” at a young age.

 

 

Teaching so that Children can Learn

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