Parent and educator guide to using the Penn State tragedy to describe sexual abuse to kids and teens; Safety tips to prevent abuse and signs of sexual abuse The Penn State child sexual abuse case has adults on full alert. “How could this have happened to those boys?” “Why didn’t anyone spot those signs sooner?” [...]

Parenting advice to help kids buck those temptations and stand up to peers REALITY CHECK: A survey of 991 kids ages nine to fourteen revealed 36 percent feel pressure from peers to smoke marijuana, 40 percent feel pressure to have sex, 36 percent feel pressure to shoplift, and four out of ten feel pressure to [...]

Parenting advice to help shyer, sensitive, timid kids feel more comfortable and gain confidence in social situations “You go ahead without me.” “I’m afraid to raise my hand.” “I’d rather be by myself.” “Please don’t make me go!” Let’s face it: watching a shy, timid or hesitant child can be painful. They hang back, look [...]

Parenting strategies to help kids  solve their problems, be self-reliant, bounce back from failure and not use us as their managers, arbiters and palm pilots A mom was running late as she drove her two sons to school. “Can we pleeeease go back?” her six-year-old pleaded. “I forgot my stamps for show-and-tell.” Any other day, [...]

Parenting advice to raise morally courageous kids who can stand up for their beliefs!  This article appeared in the Gifted Education Communicator magazine, and I’m delighted to say I’ll be keynoting their conference on Gifted Children in Palm Springs on February 26 on this very topic. If you’re in that audience, please come up and say [...]

Parenting advice I shared on Dateline that could save your child’s life How would your child respond if a stranger knocked at your door? Are you really sure? Imagine an adult coming to your door when you’re not at home. The adult clearly looks official. He has a badge or is wearing a uniform such as [...]

REALITY CHECK: Did you know that tweens and teens say one of their biggest daily challenges are conflicts with peers? The Boys and Girls Club of America surveyed over 46,000 teens coast to coast and found that one of their biggest concerns was day to day conflicts without knowing how to solve them (without a [...]

Michele Borba REALITY CHECK: A recent Time/Nickelodeon survey of 991 kids ages nine to fourteen revealed some troubling facts: 36 percent of the middle schoolers surveyed feel the pressure from peers to smoke marijuana; 40 percent feel pressure to have sex; 36 percent feel pressure to shoplift; and four out of 10 sixth graders feel [...]

By Michele Borba Let’s face it. It’s a tougher time to be growing up, and the data confirms it. Bullying is fiercer. Peer pressure is tougher. Kids are more aggressive. Girls are meaner. And those tougher temptations likes drinking, sex, and drugs are hitting our kids at younger ages as well as those sticky-tricky situations [...]