signewhitson

signewhitson

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Free to Be…Not Anymore

1026
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, cyberbullying, kids, media messages, Parenting, text message

For all of you children of the 1970’s like me who spent hours and hours of your childhood listening to Marlo Thomas’ Free to Be album, check out this amazing article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marlo-thomas/marlo-thomas-bullying_b_866313.html

“Every boy in this land grows to be his own man,
In this land, every girl grows to be her own woman.”

Dear Bully

7
14 years
by in bullying, cyberbullying, kids

One of the greatest things about social media is that once I indicate an interest in a subject, I can almost instantly find myself surrounded by so many other like-minded people who bring to my attention the most interesting stories, articles, and books.  Yesterday, a former co-worker shared with me the Dear Bully website and Facebook group.  Dear Bully: 70 Authors (more…)

Is Your Best Friend Your Bully?

787
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, friends, kids, Parenting, passive aggression in girls, relational aggression

I adore author Rachel Simmons…this post from her wesbite is what Friendship & Other Weapons is all about…

http://www.rachelsimmons.com/2011/05/is-your-best-friend-your-bully/

5 Ways to Parent a Perfectionist

594
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, kids, Parenting

Some days, I wish I were more of a perfectionist.  I see the splotch of paint on my bedroom ceiling and think, “Oh, I should have touched that up…nine years ago.”  I notice the slightly askew picture frames on our family room wall and wish I had bothered to measure before I hammered the nails in to the wall.  Then, I forget about it.

When I watch my seven-year old daughter agonize over handwriting homework and berate herself for missing one question on her
30-problem math test, I thank the gods of “good enough” that perfectionism was never my thing.  And I ask those same
gods for advice on how to help my child overcome her need to be flawless.

If you, too, are the parent of a perfectionist, here are some tips that I have found to be most effective:

1.       Play up personal strengths and play down competitions

In school and at home, my daughter loves to win.  My husband insists that this is a great quality and I know that in many ways, her desire for excellence will serve her well.  Yet I also know that too much of a good thing can be rough, especially for young kids who hold themselves to impossibly high standards.  When my daughter seems singularly focused on being the ‘best” reader in
her class or getting the “highest” score in math, we try to re-focus her energies on achieving personal bests and celebrating

(more…)

5 Dangers of Too Sexy, Too Soon Ads Aimed at Our Girls

224
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, media messages, online, Parenting, television

The other day, I was having one of my proud Mama moments, introducing my soon-to-be eight year-old too New Moon Girls.com and talking to her about why I valued the type of self-esteem building content on this type of site over the self-image crushing messages of many other popular girl-focused websites.

For the first five minutes, I had her rapt attention and eager interest!  Then, too suddenly, she saw the part on the site about “Create Your Own Avatar.”  The first thing she wanted to do: skip the hand-drawn Avatar selections available on New Moon Girls and click over to Barbie.com to download one of their images.

Seriously?!

Think in your mind of how Barbies are built…now multiply whatever you have in mind by less clothing, smaller waists, higher heels, and more makeup.  Now, you know what the site has to offer in terms of the avatar choices it presents to young girl users.

The irony.  My best laid plans jilted!

Of course…I know…there is a great learning moment here for my daughter…an impactful conversation to be had…but WOW did it strike me in the face what an uphill battle we Moms face in providing our daughters with quality media content and fortifying them from the ubiquitous messages of thinner, sexier, smaller online, in print, and on TV.

5 Dangers of Too Sexy, Too Soon Ads Aimed at Our Girls.

This is a great article written by child expert, Dr. Michele Borba, on the subject, including helpful advice for parents on how to buck the prolific negative images aimed at young girls.

My Baby Clothes Boutique has partnered with me to provide articles to the parenting community. Check out their site the next time you need adorable baby clothes, photo perfect baby headbands, or even just a cute baby hat for Spring. They have everything you need!

Kindness Matters!

567
14 years
by in building self-esteem in girls, bullying

I found this on Kidlutions, one of my favorite sites.  This is definitely a theme in Friendship & Other Weapons: Group Activities to Help Young Girls Cope with Bullying.

Seinfeld Would Just Die: The Passive Aggressive Couple

707
14 years
by in angry smile, cartoons, hidden revenge, husbands, husbands and wives, marital conflict, passive aggression in relationships, passive aggressive, passive aggressive behavior in relationships, relationships, wives

Finding Kind: A Documentary Film about Friendship in Girl World

1448
14 years
by in building self-esteem in girls, bullying, films, kids, media messages, movies, Parenting, parents, passive aggression by children, passive aggression in girls, passive aggression in relationships, relational aggression, relationships

Some days, I troll around on Facebook browsing at the silly, fun goings-on in the lives of my friends.  Other days, I stumble upon the most interesting, powerful links.  Today was a lucky day–one that makes me ask: with all of my work around girl bullying, how did I not know about this group??  Please check out the Kind Campaign and their incredible documentary film, Finding Kind: 

http://youtu.be/woZTiMgWYDo

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/user/KindCampaign]

Monster High Brings the Power of Kindness to Girls

1151
14 years
by in building self-esteem in girls, bullying, kids, media messages, Parenting

I now hate to admit it, but whenever my daughters and I approached the Monster High Dolls display at our local Target, I intentionally called their attention to something else in the aisle, trying to distract them from the dolls.  My rationale: upon quick glance, I assumed they were the next generation of Bratz dolls, the hypersexualized barbie-esque doll that I promised never to buy.

Imagine my surprise when I came upon this article which corrected my off-the-mark assumption.  According to Mattel rep,  Lori Patel, “The Monster High brand uses the monster metaphor to show girls that it is ok to be different and that our unique differences should be celebrated.””

(more…)

Turn Beauty Inside Out Day

548
14 years
by in building self-esteem in girls

Today is Turn Beauty Inside Out Day.  Check out these Inner Beauty Mirror Uncontest Winners from New Moon Girls:

http://www.newmoon.com/topic/?id=85

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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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