Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Parenting /Teaching: "30 Blogs with Tips on Curbing Bad Behavior"

As a parent or caregiver, one of your most basic and essential jobs is to help children learn to make good behavioral choices and curb their naughtier tendencies. This becomes especially important as kids get older and begin to exhibit more serious and problematic behavior. Finding the most effective method of helping kids learn to overcome their misbehavior isn’t always easy; thankfully, the Internet and a rise in popularity of blogs have created a network of support and effective parenting advice. These 30 blogs are all dedicated to various methods of working with kids to stop their bad behavior, or at least curtail it before it gets out of hand.

Lying
Whether you’re dealing with a toddler that’s exploring the concept of truth or a rebellious teen that outright refuses to tell it, stopping kids from lying is one of the things that most parents and caregivers struggle with at some time or another. The advice in these five blog entries can help you do just that, encouraging honesty in the kids under your care.
Cursing
Even if you never swear, it’s almost inevitable that your child will, at some point, pick up a few choice words. These five bloggers tackle the delicate subject of indelicate speech, helping parents find the best methods of cleaning up a dirty mouth.
Stealing
Young children may take things that don’t belong to them because they haven’t yet developed a clear understanding of the concept of personal belongings. These five blog entries are dedicated to helping stamp out stealing, whether the child in question is a preschooler or a high-schooler.
Defiance
Establishing and asserting independence is something that children will do throughout their youth, and is behavior that can quickly become defiant and downright rude. Preventing or solving a problem with defiance can be relatively difficult, but these five bloggers offer their tried-and-true solutions for approaching this dilemma.
Bullying
The dangers of bullying are well-publicized, with the vast majority of parents understanding just how important it is to protect kids from one another. The realization that your own child may be the victim of bullies is horrifying enough; finding out that your child is the one victimizing her peers can be devastating. These five blogs help parents and caregivers learn the best methods for stopping budding bullying tendencies, getting your child back on track to being a good friend and classmate.
Misbehavior at School
Learning that the child who’s so well-behaved and polite at home is acting out while he’s at school can be shocking and a bit embarrassing. Handling misbehavior that tends to occur at school is the focus of the following five blog entries, helping parents to stop dreading parent/teacher conferences.
Hannah Anderson: hannah.anderson355@gmail.com

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Greensboro, NC SRO: "I wish I could have faced the Newton gun man."

Greensboro, NC-- Sgt. Heard with the Greensboro Police Department is the SRO supervisor. He's been a mentor, counselor, and friend to Greensboro youth.
In the weeks following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, districts in the Triad are talking about school security.
A big part of school security lies on school resource officers. However, they are much more than armed guards.
News 2 Liz Crawford spoke with Sgt. Jonathan Heard, who's been an SRO in Greensboro for several years. He's been with GPD for 30 years and is now supervisor of the SRO program.
Heard said it's the best job he's ever had because it allows him to help young people.
"When I was younger, I didn't have those types of resource officers and what I hoped someone would have given me in my time of coming up, I try to give that to those kids. They might be missing some things in their house whether that's domestic abuse, dealing with alcoholism in their community or family or don't understand the educational importance," said Heard.
Sgt. Heard was an SRO at Dudley High School for 5 years. Three of the students he met there are now Greensboro police officers.
"So I'd like to think that some of the interactions that we had in my past, my experiences with them, has guided them," Heard said about influencing his former students.
In the month following the tragedy in Newtown, Sgt. Heard has thought about expanding the role of SROs. He thought about the difference an SRO could have made in Newtown.
"We would have been front and center whether we had a chance or not. I would like to have the opportunity to face the gunman and put my life before them, before they take any children," added Heard.
WFMY News 2                1-15-2013                 9:32pm

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Learning to Dance in the Rain (2:36 min. video)

It almost sounds too simple to feel important, but one word... gratitude, can change your attitude, and thus your life, forever.

Sarah Breathnach said it best... When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present... We experience heaven on earth.

Watch - Learning to Dance in the Rain >>

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Doug Westmoreland Co-Founder
LifeSecretsOnline.com

Saturday, January 12, 2013

"7 Common Forms of Childhood Bullying"

As the importance of preventing bullying and teaching kids to deal with torment from their peers is emphasized more and more in the media, it becomes apparent that today’s bullying bears little resemblance to the taunting and teasing that most parents were subjected to during their own childhood years. The modern bully wears many faces, and has an unprecedented level of access to the lives of those they hurt. Here are seven forms of bullying that today’s children are exposed to on a regular basis.
  1. Cyber-Bullying Bullies are able to take their insults, threats and hurtful words to a very public and thoroughly humiliating new level through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Status updates make it easy for an entire social group to view and even comment on cruelty, while more personal threats can be sent through private messaging. Blogging platforms can also be used to mount full-scale smear campaigns, making it almost impossible for victims to face their peers.
  2. “Frenemies” – While the word “frenemy,” a portmanteau of the words “friend” and “enemy,” can be traced back to a 1953 Nevada State Journal article, the concept is intimately familiar to modern tweens and teens. Girls in particular have started to accept backhanded compliments and blatant rivalry as traits of their associates. When more assertive girls use the force of their personality and the threat of revoked social standing to coerce other members of their peer group into doing or saying things against their will, it is absolutely a form of bullying and should be treated as such.
  3. Bullying By Authority Figures – Typically, bullying is considered to fall in the realm of children and their peer group. As a result, taunts, insults and derogatory comments made by mean-spirited teachers or overzealous athletic coaches typically go unchallenged. Taught to obey authority figures, meek and mild-mannered children may never report this behavior for fear of retribution or punishment.
  4. Physical Harassment – There’s nothing new about physical bullying; stronger kids have been known to lord their prowess over smaller peers since the beginning of time. Tougher punishments and penalties have simply forced these bullies to get more creative when doling out their abuse, rather than curtailing it.
  5. Exclusion and Ostracism – Teachers and counselors with good intentions can make every effort to stamp out physical and verbal harassment, but their hands are tied when it comes to exclusion. Children and adolescents simply can’t be forced to associate with someone they’ve deemed an outcast, and this ostracism can be more painful for the victims than physical punches and kicks.
  6. Verbal Harassment – Name-calling, teasing and making fun of a child’s appearance, wardrobe or any other area of perceived inferiority might have crept over into social media and text message wars, but that hasn’t diminished its face-to-face value. Though the old adage about sticks and stones makes for a catchy rhyme, it does little to comfort youngsters that are mercilessly taunted for one “failing” or another.
  7. Blackmail – When every tween and teen carries a phone that doubles as a camera, snapping photos that double as blackmail material is the work of a moment. The release, or even the mere threat of release, of an embarrassing picture can send kids into a panic; kids who willfully inflict this torment on a peer are a new breed of bully.
Shame and fear of revenge can keep children from telling even a trusted adult about what they’re suffering through, leaving them feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of shouldering the burden alone. Because children are so often reluctant to discuss bullying, parents and caregivers should be on the lookout for signs of depression, isolation and agitation, which can be indicators of emotional turmoil and distress.

Roxanne Porter

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

27 Extra Minutes of Sleep a Night

linked to better classroom behavior among school age children
Source: Pediatrics

Sunday, January 6, 2013

212 The Extra Degree...Excellence

At 211 degrees water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils. And with boiling water, comes steam. And steam can power a locomotive. The one extra degree makes the difference. This simple analogy reflects the ultimate definition of excellence.
Watch 212 - The Extra Degree >>


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Together:  Encouragement, Inspiration & Empowerment

Saturday, January 5, 2013

How may we learn from the past, from other approaches, and integrate the best for proactive safer schools for children, staff, SROs, and communities?

* Conscious Discipline
* Violence Risk Threat Assessment
* VA Code 18.2-60
* Restorative Practices
* Other approaches
* Legislation passed & legislation still needed

See left pages for description of above

Canada constitution promises: “peace, order, & good government”
US constitution promises: “life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness”

Interactive map of school shootings since 1996. | canada.com

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Choice



Watch Life is like Coffee


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Doug Westmoreland Co-Founder
LifeSecretsOnline.com