Search Results for: blog talk to your teens about bullying

Study Connects Allergies to Bullying

Two recently published studies connect bullying to things that parents might not immediately think would make a child a target for a bully. The studies found that kids with food allergies, and kids who are overweight, are especially likely to get bullied. You might want to talk with your kids to see if this is something they are experiencing at school. Much has been said of the negative impact that bullies have on the peers that they target. It happens at school, on the playground, and across the internet. Sadly, there have been several stories in the news about teens … Continue reading →

The Horror of Cyber Bullying

I read a story today of a 15 year old girl who committed suicide this week because of the relentless bullying she was getting both at school and online. A month before her death she posted a youtube video sharing her story in hopes that it would help someone else going through the same thing. I’m not sure why her story stuck with me so much, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all night. This girl was absolutely beautiful and incredibly talented, yet even in death, there were many cruel comments posted on the video. I … Continue reading →

Texting Your Child While in School

During a particularly difficult time for my daughter, she sent me a text one day from school. She needed to tell me something. I responded, she responded, I responded…it turned into a 20 minute “texting” conversation. All of this was while she was in a class. I felt a twinge of guilt. Should I really be texting my daughter while she is in school? I’m sure most parents would say no. But the circumstances wouldn’t allow me to say, “We’ll talk about it later.” The reality is that she may not have been ready to discuss what she was. Now … Continue reading →

When To Seek Help for Your Teen

It really comes down to a judgment call, but there are some specific situations that require immediate action when parenting a teenager: * Self-injury, such as cutting or burning * Tobacco/nicotine addiction * Shoplifting/stealing * Violence/aggression * Anxiety * Eating disorders * Alcohol abuse/dependency * Illicit/prescription drug use These are cause for a full-blown fire alert. You need to get help for your teen immediately, no matter how much resistance your encounter. Allow me to add a few more that have long-term consequences and need to be immediately addressed: Academic difficulties. Your teenager has another primary identity: student. It’s not … Continue reading →

Bystanders to Bullying

I have written a number of blogs on the topic of bullying but a recent “Dateline” special got me thinking about another aspect of bullying…the role of a bystander. As one expert on the show said, “Bystanders are absolutely the most critical part of stopping bullying.” She said that most bystanders tend to think they are doing the right thing, by not participating. They think they are in a neutral position. However by refusing to intervene and stop the bullying, they are really siding with the bully. I had never given much thought to that. I have talked to my … Continue reading →

Dangerous Websites for Teens

I saw a report a couple of weeks ago regarding dangerous websites that teens are visiting. One of them is called “Formspring,” which is actually a social media outlet that allows members to ask and respond to anonymous questions. The problem with this website is that it also promotes cyber-bullying. Vicious notes can be sent anonymously. This opens the door to all kinds of bullying like obscene language, derogatory comments and other unkind ways of interacting. I wanted to personally look more into this website but it required signing up and I wasn’t quite ready for that. However it is … Continue reading →

Bullying Leads to a Suicide Pact

Suicide is such a devastating way to go. Recently two 8th grade girls (who were also best friends), Haylee Fentress and Paige Moravetz, made a suicide pact. The reason? They were being ostracized and bullied by others. Both girls left behind a note for their families. Bullying continues to be a huge problem today. Although bullying has always existed, it seems to have reached new levels…in some part, no thanks to technology. There are some who believe that bullying is just a part of childhood and that those who are victims need to somehow suck it up and deal with … Continue reading →

Is Your Child a Bully?

Once again last week Dr. Phil covered bullying in a show called “Raising a Bully?’ This show had a little bit of a different perspective in that it was more about the bully rather than the one being bullied. As I expected would happen, one of the parents of a bully attempted to defend her son. It really doesn’t matter what the details are. They were horrible and actually resulted in arrests being made. But the mother of one of the bullies was talking out of both sides of her mouth. In one breath she would admit that what her … Continue reading →

Parents and Teachers Need to Work Together to Stop Bullying

The Dr. Phil season has barely kicked off and already I am seeing him tackle a lot of teen issues. The biggest one on his plate is bullying. He has already done a couple of shows on teen bullying and is now starting an anti-bullying campaign. Like Dr. Phil, I too believe this is a serious issue. With technological advances in our society, bullying has been taken to a whole new degree. As I have said before, the bullying has to stop. One of the things that I feel would greatly help to stop bullying is if parents and teachers … Continue reading →

Talk to Your Teens about Bullying

Today I continue blogging about the recent Dateline special that featured segments on issues like teens and technology, allowing strangers into the home and what I am going to talk about today, bullying. The producers of Dateline staged a casting call for a fake reality television show. The first part of this segment featured a group of five middle school girls, with three of them being actors. The other two girls were being secretly watched by their parents through hidden cameras. The idea was to see how the two girls would react when the actors pretended to bully one particular … Continue reading →