October is Bullying Prevention Month, and while most articles center around how to help victims, it’s equally important that we consider the other side. Could our child be a bully? Every parent loves their children dearly and likely cannot imagine their child intentionally harming someone else. In fact, we can be so blinded by our love that we miss warning
Read moreOctober is bullying prevention month. Today we will discuss the warning signs that your child is being bullied and what you should do if they are experiencing bullying. The first thing to understand is a definition. Bullying is an intentional, aggressive and repeated behavior that involves an imbalance of power or strength. It’s intentional and repeated, so calling someone a
Read more“I don’t want to go to school” is a phrase nearly every parent has heard many times. Every child complains about going to school now and then, and even resists going to school. But when a teen refuses to attend school on a regular basis, or has problems staying in school, something more serious is likely at play. A teenager
Read moreOctober is National Bullying Prevention Month. With so many students learning remotely this school year during the pandemic, bullying is most often taking place online, so today’s blog will focus on how we can prevent cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can be defined as unwanted, aggressive behavior involving a real or perceived power imbalance that takes place over digital devices like cell phones,
Read moreAdolescent culture has embraced sexting – the term for sending sexually explicit messages, photos, or videos via any digital device. It can include nudity, suggestive messages, or content simulating sex acts. Parents might feel that sexting is risky, dangerous and illegal, but for teenagers, consensual sexting is often fun and sexy. They might perceive sexting as part of flirting, building
Read moreToday begins No Name-Calling Week, an awareness week organized by K-12 educators and students to end name-calling and bullying in schools. Name calling may seem benign – it’s just words after all, and our society believes in freedom of speech – but it is a slippery slope. Studies show that name calling actually leads to anger and violence or withdrawal
Read moreThanks to technology, our world is so much more interconnected than ever before. As a result, our children will be exposed to a wide variety of people with many differences, including race, language, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, disabilities, age, economic circumstances, customs, culture, and lifestyles. It’s important that we teach youth to behave and make decisions based on respect and tolerance
Read moreTeasing. The dictionary defines it as a statement intended to provoke or make fun of someone in a playful way. In some families, members often tease each other, and depending on the personalities involved, it can be a great way to laugh and let off steam. Friends can enjoy fun together with kind and playful teasing. But teasing isn’t always
Read moreWhen teens behave badly, it can feel infuriating! Parents are bound to feel frustrated when their teen acts defiant, withdrawn, aggressive, or unmotivated. We might feel that our teen is ungrateful, entitled, disrespectful, or that he/she hates us. While these are perfectly natural reactions, we are missing an important key. Don’t guess or assume that your teen is acting out
Read moreThere have been multiple studies and reports that suggest social media has a negative impact on the mental health of youth, including poor self-ratings of mental health, increased levels of psychological distress, and suicidal ideation. But those ideas were solidified for many parents when former Facebook employee, Frances Haugen, recently testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee that internal company research
Read moreThe majority of today’s teenagers are struggling with negative self-talk. Negative self-talk is an inner dialogue you have in your own mind that puts yourself down, focuses on weaknesses and minimizes strengths, limits your confidence, or blocks your ability to reach your potential. We all have an inner critic, which can sometimes be helpful in motivating us to improve, but
Read moreAccording to a new report, The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2019, American teenagers spend an average of more than seven hours per day on screen media for entertainment, and tweens spend nearly five hours. Note that those averages do not include time spent using screens for school and homework. And in another 2018 study by
Read moreAll of us are naturally drawn to people who are like us. We feel connected and understood when we find someone else who looks like us, does things the way we do, or has experienced something similar to our experiences. While this is normal behavior, it can lead to discrimination and a lack of compassion for those who are different
Read moreOne of the worst things to hear from your child are the words, “someone is spreading rumors about me.” It’s so hurtful, and you feel so powerless. Gossip is really a form of emotional bullying. The adolescent years, more than any other period in life, tends to be a time characterized by gossip and rumors. As we all know, gossip
Read moreTikTok is a major phenomenon! It was the most downloaded app of 2019 and has one billion active users. It is most popular with users under 16 years old, which means that parents need to know what it is, how children are using it, and whether or not it’s safe. What is TikTok? TikTok, originally called musical.ly, is a social
Read moreYouth violence affects thousands of young people each day, which in turn impacts our schools and communities. Youth violence typically involves young people hurting other peers who are unrelated to them and who they may or may not know well. Examples include fights, bullying, threats, and gang-related violence. A young person can be involved with youth violence as a victim,
Read moreIt’s so exciting when your tween finishes elementary school, but they can become a nervous mess as the school year approaches and the reality of attending middle school sets in. If you have a tween headed to middle school, today’s blog is the perfect guide you need to navigate the many changes and challenges your child will face. Set Your
Read moreAdolescence is a time of major change. The changes can be so dramatic that it leaves parents confused and uncertain if what they are seeing is just typical teen behavior or cause for concern. Today’s blog will explain why teen behavior can be confusing, what behaviors are appropriate for this age group, and how you can best handle the typical
Read moreEvery year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) interviews several thousand students in its annual survey on teen behavior. The results were released this month. On the positive side, fewer high school students are having sex or abusing drugs. On the negative side, bullying is still a pervasive problem, and there has been an increase in the number
Read moreTeenagers should know the basics of self-defense in order to be responsible for their own safety. This is especially true if you are sending your teen off to college this Fall. It’s important for teens to understand that self-defense does not mean ‘knowing how to fight.’ Self-defense actually means doing everything possible to avoid fighting someone who bullies, threatens or
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