“I wrote that some people don’t care if you get bullied or not, but I do care,” Ziainey said.”

Zianey Stokes has been inspired  to start her own anti-bullying organization.  Excellent!

Full story at NBC Philadelphia

Researchers reviewed and analyzed 153 studies and found that both victims and bullies have poor problem-solving skills within social situations. They also found that boys bully more than girls but here’s a significant point:   those who do poorly in school are at a higher risk of becoming a bully. The research was published this week in the journal School Psychology Quarterly.

Read article on bullies and victims at Scientific American.

Q: We recently discovered several instances of one of my sons actually being the cyberbully. The transcripts were unbelievably obscene and I am devastated. I have had numerous talks with him about the severity of this issue, but I don’t really understand what to do from there.

Read more about the event at StopGirlBullying.com

Information on Katey’s Breakout Session

“Be The One” Sharing Healthy Experiences
Breakout Session Description: Award winning author Rosalind Wiseman calls it “creating a culture of dignity”. SHE and its team members call it “Be the One.” In this interactive, hands on session, the SHE team will highlight and outline the damaging effects of relational aggression in one real life community with special attention to the bystander role. Workshop participants will be transfixed as they watch one community’s proactive approach to relational aggression and the amazing transformation through relationship building. Workshop participants will leave with next step information and ready-set -go manipulatives about how you can “Be The One” to transform your community and begin your own RA awareness campaign and forum that will unite students, parents, and staff to take a stand and truly transform a school culture and community at-large.

Grade Level: K-12

Session Speaker: Katey McPherson
Administrator/Founder of SHE (Sharing Healthy Experiences)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

From the article:

“Kids who get bullied and snubbed by peers may be more likely to have problems in other parts of their lives, past studies have shown. And now researchers have found at least three factors in a child’s behavior that can lead to social rejection.

The factors involve a child’s inability to pick up on and respond to nonverbal cues from their pals.”

And further:

“When children have prolonged struggles with socializing, “a vicious cycle begins,” Lavoie said. Shunned children have few opportunities to practice social skills, while popular kids are busy perfecting theirs. However, having just one or two friends can be enough to give a child the social practice  he or she needs, he said.

Parents, teachers and other adults in a child’s life can help, too. Instead of reacting with anger or embarrassment to a child who, say, asks Aunt Mindy if her new hairdo was a mistake, parents should teach social skills with the same tone they use for teaching long division or proper hygiene. If presented as a learning opportunity, rather than a punishment, children usually appreciate the lesson. “

Article at MSNBC’s Today:
Improving the mother-daughter relationship
‘Side by Side’ examines how to openly communicate with one another

You can register for this Webinar at their website. Registration is $45 and you can attend the session live by phone or on the computer.

February 24, 2010
3:30pm EST

February 24, 2010
6:30pm EST

For our AZ friends seeing this, note the times are Eastern Standard Time

Click here for more info

We will try to get an email blast to all past participants to let them know, but spread the word for us if you can ok.

Who is the speaker?

Read all about Chick Moorman at his website.  He will be at Ingleside Middle School from 7-9pm on February 17th, 2010.  Registration information and detailed topic information to follow.