How to determine why a child is using aggressive behaviors so you can turn it around It’s not easy to know that your child is bullying. It’s hard to admit that your kid is using aggression. But to allow bullying behaviors to continue will be disastrous to your child’s character, conscience, reputation, well-being and mental [...]

A review of  Bullied: What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid Needs to Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear, by Carrie Goldman THE REALITY CHECK on BULLYING: Statistics reveal that at least 25% of kids have been bullied online One in five teens has been bullied at school More than half of bullying behaviors will [...]

New research findings and 3 important takeaways for bully prevention New research on bullying is published so quickly it’s hard to stay current with recent findings. But at the same time we’re already seeing an epidemic of so-called “bullying prevention programs” flooding the market. Latest reports [Farrington and Ttofi] reveal that - at best -only about one fourth [...]

Tips I shared on the TODAY show to help parents monitor their  kids online behavior to boost Internet safety and curb inappropriate online activity Kid Internet access is now everywhere–from laptops, to television screens, to cell phones and Ipods. In the past ten years, the amount of time our kids spend online daily has tripled [...]

What to do if your child receives cyber-threats or you suspect cyberbullying “A number of middle school students—including my daughter–are receiving vicious anonymous emails and text messages from peers. The school sent a letter home describing the problem as “cyberbullying.” What do I do to help my daughter? When do I worry? Do I call [...]

Red flags that a child may be cyber-bullied or harassed electronically Over the last few days, weeks and months we’ve read about horrific tragedies – suicides-that appear prompted by relentless bullying. There is even a term for such a tragedy-it’s called “bullycide.”   So let’s get savvy about electronic cruelty and the new digital age our [...]

Four safety rules to teach kids to help them be safer online and stop cyber-bullying REALITY CHECK: Did you know that a recent survey found that almost 70 percent of adolescents say the best way for them to be safe online is through education? Are you educating your child how to be safe online? Let’s [...]

How to work with the school to create a safety plan for your child when bullying continues and previous efforts fail You know your child is being bullied. You talked to your child or even with the teacher, tried strategies, but bullying continues. You’re fully aware that your child is suffering. You recognize the serious [...]

The mothers of two 14-year-old girls who killed themselves in a suicide pact spoke to TODAY’s Matt Lauer about their heartbreak today, saying their daughters had been victims of cyberbullying and suffered from depression — but they never expected anything this horrible. “I tried to teach her to see past tomorrow,” said Tricia Behnke, mother of [...]

Teaching kids how to be active bystanders, stand up to peer cruelty and speak out against bullying.  My “Bully B.U.S.T.E.R. Bystander SkillsI shared on Dateline. Bullying is a learned behavior, and it is on the rise. One third of middle and high school students were bullied during the school year. Previous studies estimated the figure [...]

Troubling research about our kids’ lack of online smarts and predators’ new grooming techniques to lure them. Advice based on new studies to keep kids safer online and parents and child givers better educated. Studies show that predators are using more subtle and savvier ways to “befriend” kids including pretending to be another teen or [...]

Parenting alert: Websites tailored to young girls that encourage negative self-image, eating disorders and cold-blooded cruelty Research is showing a clear and troubling trend in the mental health of our daughters. Eating disorders, stress, depression, smoking, binge drinking, a peer creulty are steadily rising. Though the internet is certainly not the prime cause, it can [...]

How to know if a girl may be a victim of female bullying and the “Mean Girl Scene” “I don’t want to go to school!” “All the girls hate me!” “Can’t we please just go away for awhile!” “I can’t take it anymore!” Sound familiar? They’re the kind of comments young girls utter about the [...]

Study uncovers solutions that may help kids be less likely to be victimized online Just mention two words: “Online Predator” to a parent and be prepared for a full-blown panic attack. Few things are more terrifying than envisioning our kids being recruited for sexual relationships by some unseen force. Though we can ever fully protect [...]

Peer cruelty is also increasing and becoming more violent. By some estimates, one in seven American schoolchildren is either a bully or a victim. Studies find that 160,000 children skip school every day because they fear being attacked or intimidated by other students. And the cruel behavior increases with age. A recent study prepared for the American [...]

REALITY CHECK: One survey found that half of three thousand U.S. children surveyed during the previous six months said they or someone they know had been victims or guilty of cyberbullying. Talk to your kids and monitor that computer! Our kids are called the “Net Generation” and for good reason. After all, this is the [...]

It’s a whole new world and with so many new issues to face when it comes to child rearing these day. Let’s face it, June Clever didn’t have to deal with worrisome parenting challenges such online safety, predators and cyberbullying. One thing is for sure, the Internet is here to stay. It has also become [...]

Michele Borba Note to readers: This is the fourth in a series of blogs about relational aggression-or the new mean girl scene-and what educators and parents can do to curb this  trend. In past blogs I’ve discussed the forms of relational aggression, how boys bully vs girls, and the impact of being targeted, and signs that [...]

Part II The Affect of Relational Aggression (RA) On Girls Michele Borba Note to readers: This is the second in a series of blogs about relational aggression-or the new mean girl scene-and what educators and parents can do to curb this troubling trend. The first step to change is always awareness. And we need to [...]

From parents to teens, teachers to principals, lawyers to landscapers, doctors to truck drivers, no one is immune to Internet slime. Sue Scheff’s book, Google Bomb: The Untold Story of the $11.3M Verdict That Changed the Way We Use the Internet stresses why it is critical that you learn to maintain your cyber presence. Are you [...]

Are you ready to be google bombed? Why you must read Sue Scheff’s story Michele Borba First off, a little disclosure: a few weeks ago I admit to being absolutely clueless about Sue Scheff’s infamous defamation case. (I know, I know, my head must have been buried in the sand to miss all the news [...]

Michele Borba   REALITY CHECK A survey of 3,700 middle school age students found that nearly a quarter of the eighth-graders said they were bullied online in a two-month period. Nearly half of 3,000 middle schoolers surveyed knew someone who was a victim or guilty of cyber-bullying in the last six months. Talk to your [...]

Michele Borba REALITY CHECK: Did you know that 30 percent of girls who have gone into online chat roooms say they have been sexually harassed, but only 7 percent of those girls say they told their mothers or fathers about the incidents immediately? That disturbing finding comes from the Girl Scout Research Institute survey “What [...]