Bullying – The Buck Stops With You

Using Positivity to Stop Bullying - Group of Kids

Helping Your Kids Focus on the Positive to Stop Bullying

by Terri Fedonczak

The foundation of bullying and competition are the same: disconnection. Whether it’s a passive aggressive derision or a physical confrontation, the basis is a disconnection from what makes us human…loving kindness. The answer isn’t to focus on the tragedy of disconnection; it’s to foster connection. You don’t stop evil by blowing it up into something terrifying with dramatic headlines, you stop it by giving it a hug, patting it on the head and giggling about why it ever existed in the first place. When we can stop looking at bullying as an evil monster that is impossible to slay, we can begin to shrink it down to size.

The Value of Involving Kids in Family Chores

Kids and Chores - Washing Dishes

Doing Family Chores Makes Kids Feel Included

by Amy Egan

I wish I’d realized earlier in my parenting career, the nearly essential and profoundly positive influence   family/household chores have upon a child or teen.  My children were 7 and 3 when the information came to me but had I known all along, well, you know how we always “wish we knew then what we know now”!

Help Your Tween Handle Stress

Help your tween handle stress

How to teach your children effective ways of handling stress

by Dr. Caron Goode

For many people the words childhood and carefree are interchangeable. Lazy summer days, best friends, and Friday night pizza parties are the stuff childhood memories are made of. Unfortunately, so is stress. Stress, the overwhelming feeling of self-doubt in one’s ability to cope, has become as much a part of childhood as Little League.

Children experience stress in different ways during different stages in their development. An elementary age child may complain of stomach aches and headaches. Older children might become irritable or depressed, while teens may rebel. In the case of my daughter, her middle school years were fraught with low self-esteem and sleepless nights.

I began to notice a change in her behavior in seventh grade shortly after she joined the track team. She had always been an active child. She played basketball for a local league and was on the swim team at our neighborhood pool. Therefore, when she tried out for her middle school track team, I wasn’t surprised. At first, she met the challenge of daily practice and Saturday meets with enthusiasm. Towards the middle of the season, however, there was a change in her attitude. Her stories about practice were not as animated as they once were. I had also started to notice dark circles under her eyes. When I asked if everything was alright, her reply was a meek and unconvincing, “Sure.”