Parenting

The Healthy Media for Youth Act

1005
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, media messages, online, Parenting

According to Change.org:

  • More than half of girls (55 percent) admit they diet to lose weight
  • 42 percent of girls know someone their age who forced themselves to throw up after eating
  • 37 percent know someone who has been diagnosed with an eating disorder
  • 31 percent admit to starving themselves or refusing to eat as a strategy to lose weight.

According to the Girls Inc, even young girls, 3rd through 5th grade, worry about their appearance (54 percent), and specifically their weight (37 percent).

The American Psychological Association’s Report on the Sexualization of Girls (2007) found that three of the most common (more…)

Confessions from a Child Development Expert

872
14 years
by in Being a Mom, Parenting

Check out this great, relieving, totally honest piece about parenting from Dr. Robyn Silverman.  Ahhhh, I feel so much better about my not-so-perfect parenting already…

 

http://www.drrobynsilverman.com/parenting-tips/confessions-from-a-child-development-expert-my-not-so-perfect-children/

 

 

My Baby Clothes Boutique has partnered with me to bring relevant articles to their community.  If you are shopping online for stylish baby clothing, including unique headbands, baby hats, or fun summer pettiskirts and tutus, please check them out.

Decision, Decisions: Helping Kids Make Constructive Choices for Expressing Anger

437
14 years
by in angry smile, assertiveness, Parenting, passive aggression, passive aggression by children

Pack lunch or buy it? Headband or hairclip? Tell the truth or spare her feelings with a little white lie? Every day, kids face dozens of choices, from the ordinary to the complicated. One of the most important decisions a young person makes each day has to do with how he handles angry feelings. (more…)

Seeing Isn’t Believing: Helping Young Girls De-Bunk Media Myths

942
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, media messages, Parenting

http://youtu.be/iYhCn0jf46U

Check out this great video for sharing with daughters and talking about beauty pressures.  As adults, we know that seeing isn’t necessarily believing, but it’s amazing (read: sad) how much kids buy in to what they see in the media.

 

 

The Breathtaking Cruelty of Formspring: What Every Parent Should Know

864
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, cyberbullying, internet, kids, Parenting

Read below for bestselling author Rachel Simmons’ (Odd Girl Out, Odd Girl Speaks Out, The Curse of the Good Girl) perspective and very helpful suggestions for talking to young girls about the “breathtakingly cruel” website Formspring:

 

http://www.rachelsimmons.com/2010/03/what-every-parent-should-know-about-formspring-the-new-cyberscourge-for-teens/

Formspring: Enabling the Cruelest Form of Bullying with the Greatest of Ease.

483
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, internet, kids, media messages, online, Parenting

Having just read the post below, I am still speechless…which is fine because this Mama said it all so well:

http://www.rachelsimmons.com/2011/06/guest-blog-a-mothers-battle-to-get-her-daughter-off-formspring/

I adore her apt description: Formspring is the present-day version of the bathroom stall on steroids, enabling the cruelest form of bullying with the greatest of ease.

Are you aware of the website Formspring?  As the mother of 8 and 5-year old girls, I was not…yet…but am so glad to know about it early so that I can do a little early intervention and hopefully prevention.

You know, it’s crazy–I feel like me, and so many other parents and professionals out there, are putting their hearts and souls into helping girls cope with bullying–then a site like this comes along and makes money hand over first with no purpose or objective other than to wreck young girls.   Where is the conscience?

 

 

 

Beauty Pressure: Innoculating our Kids

214
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, kids, media messages, Parenting

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I&w=425&h=349]

The article I posted below reminded me of this film clip from the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. I suggest this clip to parents and professionals in my Friendship & Other Weapons curriculum, as a way of teaching young girls about the impact of media messages–sort of an innoculation measure, with the idea that when girls are aware of the media’s intentions, they are better able to resist its negative influences.

I would love to hear your reactions to the video and feedback on how you talk with your kids about media messages and beauty pressure.

Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies

451
14 years
by in Being a Mom, building self-esteem in girls, bullying, media messages, Parenting

I love this post about Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies, by Andrea Owen.  “I know I can’t shelter my daughter from seeing and sometimes believing that she needs to be prettier, thinner, firmer, sexier, smoother, younger-looking, etc. But, I can sure as hell tell her from my own mouth that her body is the most perfect thing created, just as it is. That it was meant for kicking ass…”

 

http://thefeministbreeder.com/guest-post-teaching-our-daughters-to-love-their-bodies/

 

This is a key lesson in the Friendship & Other Weapons curriculum as well; part of fortifying girls against the pressures of bullying has to do with teaching them to be proud of who they are and the bodies they live in, rather than becoming overwhelmed and swept away by media messages to the contrary.

Assertive Anger Expression for Kids: Arguing vs. Disagreeing

0
14 years
by in assertiveness, Being a Mom, kids, Parenting, sibling

Do your children bicker? Mine sure do. In fact, asking if they bicker is like asking if they breathe; it comes so naturally to them that some days it seems like a life-sustaining function. I try to remind myself that sibling rivalry, while not actually critical to survival, is at least a great teacher for kids, as they practice life skills like assertiveness, negotiation, and forgiveness.

Though I put great effort into not being a constant family mediator, one of the most effective lessons I was ever able to pass on mid-conflict was teaching my daughters the difference between disagreeing and arguing.

For the full text of this article, please visit:

http://www.parentsareimportant.com/2011/06/assertive-anger-expression-for-kids.html

For more information on skills and strategies to help children express anger in assertive, relationship-enhancing ways, please check out my latest book, to be released this July:  How to Be Angry: An Assertive Anger Expression Group Guide for Kids and Teens

ParentCentral.Net: A Great Online Resource for Parents

0
14 years
by in Being a Mom, bullying, online, Parenting

In 1998, professionals from KidsPeace National Centers founded TeenCentral.net, a unique website designed as a safe place for teens to share their personal stories and receive feedback from peers as well as professional counselors. In the last decade, this award-winning site has responded to hundreds of thousands of stories and provided timely guidance to teens via its anonymous, free platform.

In response to increasing feedback from adults who have shared their parenting challenges and struggles, the founders of TeenCentral recently created ParentCentral.net. ParentCentral is designed to allow parents and caregivers the opportunity to post (more…)

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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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