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News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

The By Parents For Parents Blog is regularly updated with the latest news and information on topics that relate to parenting teenagers. We'll post parenting advice and tips from trusted online news sources and expert parenting columns.

We invite you to add your comments. Please let us know if you would like some specific topics covered, want to share your experience as a parent dealing with teens, or just have general feedback on the By Parents For Parents Blog.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Bullying Linked With Suicide in Children

A study from Yale University's School of Medicine found a link between suicide in children and bullying or being bullied.

Dr. Young-Shin Kim wrote in the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health that bullying victims were two to nine times more likely to think about killing themselves. Children who are bullies themselves are also at higher risk.

Dr. Kim analyzed 37 studies of bullying, which experts estimate between 10 and 50 percent of all children. Kim noted she did not know if other factors make certain children more susceptible to both bullying and suicide.

"While there is no definitive evidence that bullying makes kids more likely to kill themselves, there is a likely association," Kim wrote. "We can act on it and try to prevent it."

Read The Social Consequences of Being the Victim of a Bully for more information.

Labels: bullying, research, suicide

posted by ByParents-forParents at 7:34 AM 0 comments

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Few Pedophiles Pose as Youths

Television shows like Dateline's "To Catch a Predator" have created a stereotype of the online pedophiles which has been found to be inaccurate. The stereotype is of an adult to who deceives a young person by posing as a teen him- or herself.

"Internet offenders pretended to be teenagers in only 5 percent of the crimes studied by researchers at the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center. They also found that nearly 75 percent of victims who met offenders face to face did so more than once. Very few cases involved violence, stalking or abduction."

Though this new information doesn't diminish the dangers of online predators, it gives parents and teens someone different to look out for. More than likely, it's an adult who's upfront about his or her age and open about wanting to initiate a sexual relationship. One of the best guards against this kind of activity is for parents to be aware of the relationships that their teen is developing, both on- and offline. Read more at TheGlobeandMail.com.

Labels: bullying, online_safety, violence

posted by ByParents-forParents at 8:57 PM 0 comments

Monday, July 02, 2007

Handling Bullies

No parent wants to hear that their child is being bullied at school. Both the parents and the child can feel helpless. But there are ways to handle bullying that will help your child learn to stand up for himself even if the bullying continues.

"The child has to feel empowered to stand up for themselves. So, together, you can prepare what your child wants to say, what they don't like about what the bully is doing and what they want them to do differently. Then strategize about when and where to approach this child."

Some children won't feel comfortable talking to you if they're being bullied. If your child is suddenly making excuses to stay home from school, or has a drastic change in appetite (either eating more or less), there may be something going on that he or she isn't telling you. Don’t be afraid to ask. Read more at MSNBC.com.

Bullies and children with behavioral problems can benefit from a Brat Camp like Sage Walk or Turn-About Ranch. Both programs have been featured on US and UK television series of the same name. Learn more about Brat Camps at www.bratcamps.com.

Labels: brats, bullying, communication

posted by ByParents-forParents at 8:28 PM 0 comments

Monday, May 14, 2007

Gay and Lesbian Teens More Likely to be Bullied

Gay and lesbian young people are three to four times more likely to be victims of bullying than heterosexual and bi-sexual adolescents.

A study team led by Elise Berlan and Bryn Austin of the Children's Hospital Boston Division of Adolescent Medicine analyzed data from 7500 students ages 14 to 22 years old. Nearly half of the one percent of the participants who described themselves as gay or lesbian reported being bullied.

"We know that sexual minorities are more likely to smoke, drink, use drugs and have eating disorders and depression,” said Austin. "We suspect that social isolation, harassment, bullying and sometimes frank violence against these adolescents may be an explanation."

Austin presented the study at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine on March 20, 2007.

Labels: bullying, gay, lesbian

posted by ByParents-forParents at 4:13 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Is Your Child a Bully?

This can be a tough questions for many parents to answer. No one wants to think that their child is a bully, but if he or she is it's important to intervene and teach them respect for other children, especially children who have special needs that make them seem "different."

Teens with Asperger Syndrome tend to be objects of a bully's attention. Because kids with Asperger's can seem socially awkward, then are often tormented by bullies. Imagine how these children feel when they are continually targetted with cruel comments and even physical aggression (tripping them, throwing things at them).

How can you tell if your child is the type of person who bullies those who seem "different?" Listen to how they talk about other children. If you overhear your child mocking other kids' disabilities, step in immediately. Explain to him or her why this is cruel, and why their attitude is unacceptable.

If teachers mention to you that your child bullies other students, do not get defensive. The worst thing you can do as a parent is excuse your child's hostile behavior toward his or her peers. The sooner you deal with this type of behavior, the more likely you are to raise a child who becomes a compassionate adult who respects others.

Learn about Camp Huntington special needs summer camps.

Labels: asperger, bullying

posted by ByParents-forParents at 1:50 PM 0 comments

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