… I feel that it is imporant for all to become more informed about the concerns that surround us in our everyday lives. This blog shares articles related to mental health, internet safety, cyberbullying and anything else related to what our young people are facing in this 21st century as well as how we as caring humans can help. As shared in Amanda’s You Tube Video, so much happens in our global world and the only way we can learn is by becoming more informed. Visit the website of Amanda’s Legacy (Official) –www.amandatoddlegacy.org
How bullying can affect children at different ages
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – If you think bullying doesn’t affect your kids, you might be surprised.
Experts say it can affect kids of any age.
Anchor Rhiannon Ally sat down with Pediatric Associates Natasha Burgert, MD and bullying author SuEllen Fried to discuss how bullying affects different age groups.
Bullying by age: Preschoolers
Question: Can bullying affect kids as young as 3 or 4?
Answer: “We do see kids that young that are bullies, and we do see those kids that are bullied. We do see similar characteristics whether you’re a preschooler, middle schooler, or high schooler. They’re going to be picking on them repetitively. It’s going to be very deliberate in its intent and it’s going to deliberately cause harm,” Dr. Burgert said.
Bullying by age: Elementary school students
“It’s hard to discern what really is teasing as a form of communication and when does that cross the line to bullying,” Dr. Burgert said.
Q: How do you teach your child to deal with teasing?
A: Dr. Burgert said, “It depends on the relationship you have with the person who is teasing you. I think we need to talk to our kids about what they feel comfortable with…. to give them permission to say no, I don’t like it when you call me that name.”
Bullying by age: Middle school students
Q: Why is bullying such a problem for this age group?
A: Fried said one boy told her, “Middle school is senselessly evil. When you look at the graph, it starts very young. Middle school is where it peaks, and then in high school kids start to mature. Middle school is one of the most challenging transitions. In elementary school you were more like a family. All of a sudden you have all these different teachers, different schools coming together and bullying really increases in intensity, and cyberbullying has caused unimaginable levels of cruelty, even resulting in suicide.”
Cyberbullying affects middle and high schoolers
Dr. Burgert said her patients and parents bring cyberbullying up to her often.
“It’s bad. It’s really intense. There are more apps that give you a cloak of anonymity, which as adults, with trolling and mean things we see online, it’s just ramped up when you have that cloak of invisibility. I think this is one time kids come to me and ask permission. Is it OK to put my phone away,” she said.
What if a parent suspects their child is the bully?
Fried said, “Don’t start out in a judgmental way, because most kids who are bullies are doing it from a personal stress. So start asking your child what is going on in their lives. Is there something causing them pain? You want them to know you are in their corner.”
Dr. Burgert agreed and added, “Bullying is not a phase. It’s not something they grow out of. It’s formative…. If it’s something you are witnessing with their friends or even their siblings, get help. Kids need to be taught social skills. They need to be taught empathy skills. It can be taught, and there are professionals that can help.”
For more information on Natasha L. Burgert, MD, visit:
http://www.pedsassoc.com/expecting-parents/our-doctors.cfm
For more information on SuEllen Fried, visit http://www.bullysafeusa.com/
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Rhiannon Ally can be reached at rhiannon.ally@kshb.com.
Read article here – http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/how-bullying-can-affect-children-at-different-ages
Video launched after “amazing” response to girl’s online campaign against sexting
With girls as young as 13 being asked to send nude pictures over social media, a group of pupils at Stroud High School decided enough was enough.
So they’ve started a campaign online with an Open Letter, and now they’ve made a video to boost their message.
The year nine youngsters wrote an ‘Open Letter’ outlining how they would like to be treated by boys, and what they expect from relationships.
They’re tired of the expectation to behave like porn stars, and feeling pressurised to behave in ways they aren’t comfortable with.
5-Year-Old Boy, Jax, Gets Same Haircut As His Friend So You Can’t Tell Them Apart
Sometimes life’s lessons come from those with the least experience.
The story of two 5-year-old boys from Kentucky, one white and one black, is teaching people about racial harmony.
The story exploded online when the mother of Jax, the white boy, posted on Facebook about how her son wanted to get his haircut like his black buddy, Reddy, so they could trick their teacher.
The boys believe if they have the same haircut, their teacher won’t be able to tell them apart.
via 5-Year-Old Boy, Jax, Gets Same Haircut As His Friend So You Can’t Tell Them Apart
Kids now spending more time online than watching television, survey shows
Children now spend more time on the internet than watching television, according to a survey of young Australians aged six to 13.
In 2016 kids spent an average of 12 hours a week online compared to 10.5 hours spent in front of the TV.
While television was still the number one entertainment of choice at home, internet use was expected to surpass TV in the next two years.
The results correlated with the increased use of mobile and tablet devices by children outside the home such as at school, on the bus, or when “out and about”.
About three-quarters of the children surveyed regularly used tablets, while 74 per cent of 12 to 13-year-olds surfed the web via a mobile phone.
Kids and their devices
- 74 per cent of children aged six to 13 use a tablet.
- 20 per cent of six to seven-year-olds use mobile phones; 2 per cent have their own phone.
- 74 per cent of 12 and 13-year-olds use mobile phones.
- Around 95 per cent of households with children have a computer.
+’s in Amsterdam
Despite the reasons that I have travelled to Amsterdam, I always have to look for the positives from every experience. In the days I have been here so far, there are many. The support and love that I have felt over the past few days have been enough to ‘fill the bucket’ of hope.
I have met many people who continue to share their amazement at Amanda’s story. These stories will continue to not only have impact on my life but also to theirs. The first stories of course happened when we were at the Vancouver airport boarding the flight here to Amsterdam. Air Canada employees who recognized me and gave me their words of hope.
The hotel here in Amsterdam have been a positive lifeline of support. The management and staff here at the Hotel Correndon Vitality Spa have been so accommodating to the requests that I have needed. The meeting rooms for media. The service in their restaurant. The taking up of their lobby space when photography needed to be done for a magazine article. The welcoming service when we first arrived. On a cold and snowy evening a few nights ago, we needed a taxi. The hotel employee came out in the cold with no jacket and found us a taxi. He then introduced himself as a father himself and that he was following this story closely. He also shared a personal thank you and wished me strength and hope. These are messages that are not always easy for others to say out loud.
Also when I arrived here in Amsterdam, I received a message on my personal Facebook from a person who was originally from Canada but who had moved here many years ago to be with her future husband. Meeting people you don’t know can be a risky thing but I have learned that sometimes you have to take chances in life. This was just another one.
She wanted to take Rob and I to see something unique in Amsterdam to add to the collection of positives. It was to the Windmill park where there were many windmills and homes that had been moved to one location. Some of the windmills had been built in the 1700’s. In the few hours that we were together, I have added another person who I consider a friend. She had also grown up in the Tri-Cities.
After climbing to the top of a windmill and also being really cold, we decided on dinner together with her husband joining us. Sharing time and stories was so cool. It was my new friends birthday today so I wish her the best birthday ever. She woke up to snowflakes and it made her feel like today was an even more special day.
Part 2 tomorrow…. meeting another set of new friends and Amanda’s Legacy at the Grammy’s.
Man gets 20 years in “sextortion” case that involved Tucson girl, 13
A 39-year-old Utah man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday in connection to two child pornography cases in federal court.
Donald Macarthur, of Lehi, Utah, was sentenced in Tucson by U.S. Chief District Judge Raner C. Collins to the prison term, which will be followed by lifetime supervised release. Macarthur must register as a sex offender, according to a news release.
Macarthur had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography in two cases.
Authorities said Macarthur used the internet to meet young girls on modeling and pro-anorexia web sites. He communicated with the girls through email and text messages.
Cyberbullying in city schools soars 351% in just two years – New York Post
Cyberbullying in city schools has soared by 351 percent in just two years — with reports of fat-shaming and harassment over race, gender and sexual orientation leading the way, a Post analysis has found.
There was a total of 804 reported incidents in the 2015-16 school year, compared to 686 the prior year and 178 in 2013-14, the year the state Department of Education began collecting data.
via Cyberbullying in city schools soars 351% in just two years | New York Post
Cyberbullying up 8% in Italy, study says
(ANSA) – Milan, February 1 – Online bullying is on the rise in Italy, according to a study just released by the Lombardy region.
The research published on Tuesday said that over the past year cyberbullying cases have grown by 8% and that one in four teens was involved in sexting – sending sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone.
In addition, one in four teens said they started sexting for the first time aged 11 to 12.
via Cyberbullying up 8% in Italy, study says – English – ANSA.it
‘Anyone can be a victim’: Canadian high school girls being lured into sex trade
Most stories about human trafficking that make it into the headlines in Canada involve women from other countries being brought here and forced into sex work, but those who work with trafficking victims in this country say the majority are, in fact, Canadian-born teenage girls.
Vanessa, 18, is one of them. She was a typical high school student in Mississauga, a city just west of Toronto, until two years ago, when she fell in with a new boy who enrolled at her school.
via ‘Anyone can be a victim’: Canadian high school girls being lured into sex trade – Toronto – CBC News
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