News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

Short children are teased only somewhat more than their friends, and such teasing does not appear to affect their popularity or risk for depression, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.

• Dr. Joyce Lee studied 712 sixth-graders using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Developments Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.
• The data included reports from the children and their teachers, as well as measures of depression, optimism, popularity, and social support from peers.
• Short children scored slightly higher in self-reports of peer victimization; however, their teachers reported no differences.

Dr. Lee said there wasn't any real emotional difference between short and tall children based on the factors that she evaluated. This study appeared in the journal Pediatrics.

Labels: depression, bullying

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Victims of childhood bullying are four times more likely to become psychotic before they reach middle school, according to a study from the University of Warwick in Great Britain.

Psychology professor Dieter Wolke studied more than 6,430 children from birth to age 13 years old, administering interviews and psychological tests to the children and their parents. Prof. Wolke found that victims of bullies were more likely to experience psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, hearing voices, and believing others were spying upon them.

"Adverse social relationships with peers are a potent risk factor for developing psychotic symptoms," Dr. Wolke said in an article that appeared in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry. "When we talk about bullying victimization, it is repeated, systematic and an abuse of power with an intention to hurt."

In recent years a greater degree of attention has been paid to the causes and effects of bullying, which has been linked to a wide range of social, emotional, and developmental disorders.

Labels: children, mental_health, bullying

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Having a child who doesn't want to go to school is not unusual. However, if your children seem especially defiant or unwilling to go, take time to find out what their reasons are.

"For young children, it may be due to the adjustment to the routine and structure of school versus home. It may also be social reasons, such as being overwhelmed by the sheer number of kids around them, or it could even be due to bullying."

Don't talk only to your child. Get in touch with teachers, school administrators, and even bus drivers. If there's a serious problem, you'll want - and need - their help. Source: This Week (Canada)

Labels: social-skills, school, bullying

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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: suicide, research, bullying

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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: violence, online_safety, bullying

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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

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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. Dont 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: communication, bullying, brats

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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

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Teenagers who are bullied online suffer from higher levels of depression than those are involved in traditional kinds of bullying, according to a new article in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Traditional bullying involves physical or verbal taunting, teasing, or torment, or relational bullying, which is the exclusion of a person from a group. Cyberbullying is tormenting someone via computer or cell phone, such as by broadcasting lewd pictures of the person, repeating or creating harmful gossip, and so forth.

• Previous research has shown that traditional bullies and their victims have higher than average levels of depression.
• This new study found that cyberbullying is the hardest for victims.
• Dr. Jing Wang and his colleagues at the National Institute of Health analyzed data on 7313 students in grades six to ten who took part in the Health Behavior in School Aged Children 2005 Survey.
• The percentage of children involved in physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying was 21%, 54%, 52%, and 14% , respectively.
• Victims of cyberbullying had the highest levels of depression among the four groups, although all groups suffered higher than average levels of depression.

"Notably, cyber victims reported higher depression than bullies or bully-victims, which was not found in any other form of bullying," said Dr. Wang. "This may be explained by some distinct characteristics of cyberbullying. For example, unlike traditional victims, cyber victims may experience an anonymous attacker who instantly disperses fabricated photos throughout a large social network; as such, cyber victims may be more likely to feel isolated, dehumanized or helpless at the time of the attack."
 

Labels: depression, bullying, cyberbullying

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