Safety in Numbers: Parents and Schools Working Together in Bullying Prevention
Recently, my cousin was telling me about her sixth grade son, Tom, who was being excluded. It seemed to start all of a sudden. A big group of “friends” started to go to Wendy’s after school but would make a big point that he wasn’t included. I don’t have to tell you what that does […]
White House Summit on Bullying: What Can We Do?
In President Obama’s opening remarks at the White House Summit on Bullying, he said, “No child should feel that alone.” That just about sums up why I’m involved. In the closing remarks after all the true but tragic stories, the overwhelming statistics and expert advice had been shared, the audience was asked to ask themselves, […]
When Young Kids Feel the True Meaning of Power: The Anti-Bully
You don’t have to be “powerful” to stand up. Standing up will change you, change the world, and may even change the bully. Rick Ackerly, education expert and author of The Genius in Children, offered the above comment on a recent Tangled Ball post regarding Jennifer Aniston’s upstander moment. I’m so grateful that he did […]
Geotagging Is One More Reason To Know What Kind of Technology is in Your Children’s Hands
Geotagging! Obviously, this has nothing to do with my regular topic of bullying or cyberbullying but it has everything to do with online safety. It’s something we have to be aware of when we give children cell phones. To be honest, I worry that we, as parents, don’t know enough about the technology in our […]
Don’t Let Anyone Call You Stupid: A Lesson in Bullying Prevention from Michael Angelakos and P.S. 22
(If you saw the Oscars last night, you’ll understand why I am re-posting this story about the boy from P.S. 22 who needed a kind word and a little reinforcement from a compassionate adult. The adult who paid attention just happened to be Passon Pit’s lead singer Michael Angelakos. This little boy is probably now […]
Jennifer Aniston Proves that It Takes Seconds to Stop a Bully
Dr. Michele Borba, a renowned parenting expert, speaker and author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions, recently outlined her list of 6 Teachable Skills to Stop a Bully. In it she describes a study that indicates that when a bystander (or better yet, upstander) steps in to confront a bully, in over half the […]
More on How Young is Too Young On Facebook: Michelle Obama Weighs In
Why Is 10, 11 or 12 too young to be on Facebook? Isn’t it obvious? It’s not about giving our kids permission to do something that all of their “friends” are doing, it’s giving them permission to do something that may be hurtful. I’ll agree, that some kids may never experience a problem but you […]
Dear Parents, Why Do You Let Your Young Kids Have Facebook Accounts?
After witnessing what is happening to so many kids online, I wanted to write a really preachy post about not allowing young kids to go on Facebook. Instead, I would like a parent to enlighten me on why they think it’s ok. I’ve had a really bad couple of days, including not sleeping, because I’ve […]
What Happens? A Girl’s Heartfelt Question About Bullying
This original poem was read as part of a presentation on bullying prevention at St. John’s University. When I told the presenter, Ariel, how much I liked the poem, she introduced me to the author, Alexandra, her twin sister. Alexandra told me that she changed the ending after having a discussion with her mom. (Look […]
Mrs. Behrens, Goldie Hawn and The Optimistic Classroom
Mrs. Behrens is probably 110 years old now but wherever she is, God Bless her. She was my third grade teacher and she introduced my class to mindful education. But Mrs. Behrens didn’t know it. I just spent a weekend at a MindUP Curriculum workshop, a collaboration between The Hawn Foundation (as in Goldie!) and […]
