There’s a fan page on Facebook called Cruel’s Not Cool. In checking it out it has all the qualifications for a Tangled Ball Award feature. It’s informative. It’s inclusive. It shares a wide variety of helpful information. It’s sincere.
Who’s behind it? Teen expert and author, Annie Fox.
Thought you’d like to know more about her. When asked how she became interested in the issue of peer to peer abuse, she explained:
I’ve been answering t(w)een email since ’97. The #1 issue is peer conflicts. Typically the email’s from a girl who finds herself shut out by her former bff. The so-called friend has turned mean & gotten others to join in. In Feb. at a school assembly 50 questions were submitted to me… all about mean-kid behavior. Then in April I launched our anti-bullying forum Cruel’s Not Cool! (cruelsnotcool.com) and that’s gotten a lot of attention. This problem poses a real threat to our kids’ healthy social and emotional development. That’s why I’m doing whatever I can to shine a light on the issues.
Parents should be encouraging kids to talk about their feelings from Day One. Seriously! We help our kids build self-esteem and Emotional Intelligence skills from the earliest ages by the way we talk to them, the way we listen, and the emotional landscape we create & maintain within the family. Kids who’ve been raised respectfully, are better able to set boundaries with peers. These kids are also more likely to seek help from a trusted adult when they feel overwhelmed.
Thanks, Annie. Trust. In the end, building trust is perhaps one of the only pieces of insurance we have against the damaging affects of bullying.
