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Tips for developing social skills for your child

July 31, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

children-playing

 

As kids grow and start interacting with friends and family, they begin developing social skills by learning scripts for how they should behave in certain situations.

But for children with learning disabilities, this can be challenging. These activities can help strengthen their understanding of social scripts which will help to build their confidence in social situations.

 

Social skill building activities

  • Read or tell your child stories about friendship and social interaction. Explain what made the interaction successful
  • Role play social interactions your child struggles with so they get the practice they need
  • Explain facial expressions and body language to your child using real-life examples that the two of you have experienced together
  • Start a story involving social interaction and ask your child how they would handle the situation. Coach them if necessary.

 

Putting the social skills to practice

Once your child gets some practice with social scripts, it’s time to let them put their skills to the test.

Let them spend time among their friend and other peers. Sometimes the best way to learn a new skill is to be immersed in a situation and learning first hand – same goes for building social skills.

You can also get them involved in activities that introduce them to new people.

Extracurricular activities such as sports, summer camp or art classes will expose your child to new people and new situations, giving them another opportunity to learn social scripts and find new activities.

Another great way to teach these social scripts to your child is to talk with them whenever possible.

Eating dinner as a family, shopping together or just simply asking your child about their day will all provide opportunities to interact and build their social skills.

 

Understanding the different types of bullies

July 28, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

Just like the many different types of bullying, there are different types of bullies.

Each has their own reasons for bullying and the approach that they take to belittle, intimidate or harass their targets. Today we’re going to look at who these bullies are and how they act out.

 

Popular bullies

Perhaps the biggest bully stereotype is the popular bully. These are the kids who are seen by others as the trendsetters and ones to emulate.

They seek attention as a way to stay on top of the social ladder or climb higher and use bullying to get there. Popular bullies tend to be more physical in their attacks; shoving, punching or stealing from their targets.

 

Relational bulliesteen-attitude

Also desperate for attention is the relational bully. They are slightly lower in the social pecking order than the popular bullies but enjoy using their status to decide who will be accepted and who will be outcast.

Their weapon of choice is gossip, name calling and exclusion to slander others in an attempt to keep down those who they don’t like.

 

Serial bullies

If not a target, it would be hard for others to believe a serial bully to be someone who would cause problems for others.

Serial bullies can act and appear to be innocent in the eyes of authority figures and even other students. But when they select a target, they use emotional bullying, manipulation and lying to bring down their victims.

And because they are very careful to fly under the radar of parents and teachers, they are often free to inflict emotional damage for long periods of time without getting caught.

 

Group bullies

As the name suggests, group bullies strike when they are together.

They will imitate the leader of their group as a means to impress that person and prove to the others that they belong. Because they have strength in numbers, group bullies often justify their actions by making the argument that their behavior is acceptable because others are doing it too.

 

Indifferent bullies

The other common stereotype of a bully is the indifferent bully.

These are the bullies who are incapable of feeling emotion and it shows. They often appear cold and detached.

Indifferent bullies are dangerous because they don’t care what happens to themselves or others so they can be capable of inflicting some very serious physical or emotional damage.

 

10 Facts about Childhood Obesity

July 24, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

childhood obesity

 

The number of American children suffering from obesity has tripled over the past 50 years. Childhood obesity is one of the most serious health challenges facing the U.S. Most cases of childhood obesity have behavioral or environmental origins as opposed to genetic roots.

 

Did you know?

1. Almost half of the children in the U.S. who are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes would not have diabetes if they were not obese.

2. Currently, childhood obesity costs the U.S. $14 billion annually. Obesity-related illnesses are estimated to cost $66 billion per year by 2030.

3. New diagnoses of asthma have increased by 52 percent in children and adolescents. Experts suspect a strong link between asthma and diabetes in children and teens.

4. Children with obesity are at higher risk of heart disease. 70 percent of youth who are obese have at least one risk factor for heart disease. Heart disease risk from high blood pressure and high cholesterol increases for obese children.

5. Overweight children miss school 4 times more frequently than children who are not overweight. The fear of being bullied, teased or embarrassed often prevents overweight children from participating in healthy physical activities.

6. Excessive snacking results in additional consumption of 200 calories per day of unhealthy snack foods and beverages. States that restrict the sale of snack foods and beverages in schools show lower rates of unhealthy weight gain in youth.

7. The four to five hours per day that a typical child spends watching TV, using the computer or playing video games increases the likelihood of excess weight gain. This sedentary behavior contributes to a lifetime of obesity.

8. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that children and teens practice activity equal to 60 minutes of vigorous walking every day. Only one out of every four children participates in any free-time physical activity of any type on a regular basis.

9. The life expectancy of obese children is reduced by at least five years when obesity is permanent.

10. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only 2 percent of American children enjoy healthy diets. A survey of high school seniors found that only 3 out of every 10 teens eat vegetables of any amount on a daily basis.

Does Criminalizing Bullying Reduce Reporting?

July 21, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

bullying

 

More and more communities are enacting harsh criminal penalties for bullying offenses.

Youth advocates are concerned that criminalizing these acts will further reduce reporting of bullying incidences. Lack of reporting prevents healthier and more proactive approaches to this problem. Even without criminal penalties, only one in three incidents are actually reported.

In circumstances where bullying is treated as a criminal offense, reporting is reduced even more, preventing trained school officials from turning bullying incidents into learning opportunities that will change behavior in a positive way.

 

Why Bullying goes Unreported

  • Severe consequences make victims hesitant to report
  • School officials may look the other way because the severity of punishment is disproportionate to the offense
  • Teachers and school officials lack ability to deal with bullying within additional legal boundaries
  • Criminalizing does not discourage bullying, but it does create a more negative climate for all students
  • Parents fear making a bullying situation worse and do not know what to do
  • Children do not want parents to report bullying
  • Some parents fear being over-protective and think it is best for children to work it out themselves
  • Parents of victims do not want their children to be traumatized or victimized further by a process that requires their child to be a sworn witness

Recommended Actions to Prevent or Manage Bullying

  • Create an environment where students feel supported, safe and engaged because all students in these environments are less likely to behave badly
  • Promote learning and healing of both victims and bullies instead of punishment and blame
  • Focus on forgiveness, responsibility and respectful dialogue
  • Develop policy on uses of technology that could affect online behavior in or out of the classroom, or at home
  • Community-wide strategies can help to change the attitudes of both youth and adults who tolerate bullying behaviors in areas outside of schools

Although the intention of laws designed to criminalize bullying is to make schools and communities safer, criminalizing bullying tends to drive it underground even more.

Unreported bullying prevents trained professionals from helping not only victims of bullying and bullies, but members of the community who are also negatively impacted by bullying.

 

Type 1 Diabetes in Kids

July 14, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

Diabetes mellitus type 1, known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is an autoimmune disorder that most often manifests in childhood.

As the name suggests, those with type-1 diabetes must be on insulin therapy indefinitely, and the disease requires careful monitoring of both diet and insulin intake. Managing type-1 diabetes in kids is an ongoing collaboration between the doctor, the parents and the child.

 

Causeskids with diabetes

Type-1 diabetes is the result of an autoimmune disorder in which the beta cells that produce insulin in the pancreas are destroyed.

While the underlying cause of Type-1 diabetes is unknown, proposed theories include genetics, environmental factors and virus triggers, which induce a vigorous autoimmune response that attacks other cells in the body.

Other causes currently under investigation include the ingestion of water that has high levels of nitrates, the timing of transitioning a baby to cereal, and low dietary levels of vitamin D.

 

Symptoms

There are some very clear symptoms of Type-1 diabetes, including an increase in thirst, frequent urination, persistent dry mouth, fatigue, blurred vision, increased hunger and weight loss.

In children, symptoms may also include irritability, moodiness and other behavioral changes. Girls with Type-1 diabetes may develop a yeast infection, and babies can develop yeast-caused diaper rash.

 

Complications from Type-1 Diabetes

Long-term, there are a number of complications that can affect both function and quality of life for a child with Type-1 diabetes.

As adults, people who had Type-1 diabetes diagnosed in childhood have some of the same complications and risks that people with adult-onset Type-2 diabetes experience. These complications include a higher incidence of both stroke and heart disease, high cholesterol and triglycerides, which can cause cardiovascular problems, diabetic retinopathy and diabetic neuropathy.

Careful management of Type-1 diabetes through insulin therapy, diet and exercise will minimize these complications.

Insulin therapy and education are the cornerstones for managing Type-1 diabetes in kids. However, the ultimate goal is to have the child grow to be a healthy adult by taking responsibility for effective management of the disease.

 

The 5 main types of bullying

June 9, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

Bullying is one of the more serious problems facing children and teenagers today. It seems like a new child commits suicide because of problems in school every week. Parents and educators need to better understand the different types of bullying to identify the troubles that kids go through.

 

Physical Bullying

When most people think of bullying, they think of physical bullying. This includes any type of physical action that one child takes against another.

Kicking, tripping, slapping and smacking are all types of physical altercations that parents and teachers might see in schools. Many schools now have zero tolerance policies that keep bullied students from acting out against their aggressors out of fear of expulsion.

 

Verbal Bullyingbullying_1

When one child calls another a mean nickname or uses a rude word to describe that child, it’s a type of verbal bullying.

Far too many adults think that verbal bullying isn’t as harmful as physical bullying, but it can still lead to poor self-esteem, trouble concentrating in school and even depression.

Making racist or homophobic slurs and remarks, taunting, and intimidating children through non-physical means are other types of verbal bullying.

 

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying came about as children of all ages grew up surrounded by the Internet. They can now harass each other through emails, attack their social networking pages and even send threatening tweets to others.

Cyberbullying also includes bullying done through online games played on video game consoles, smartphones and tablets and bulling done via text or picture messages.

 

Social Bullying

Emotional and social bullying is a type of bullying done to exclude a specific person or group of people. Some groups deliberately exclude a certain child from that group by making fun of the child’s appearance, clothing and hobbies.

Though some parents and educators don’t think twice about students spreading rumors, rumor spreading is a type of social bullying. Other types of social bullying include lying about a child to others, making rude gestures and playing pranks on a child.

 

Sexual Bullying

Both boys and girls use sexual bullying as a way to intimidate and exclude others. They call other students sexually derogatory names, they make rude gestures, they attempt to touch unwilling participants and they taunt others with pornographic photos and videos.

Students who are sexual bullies are more likely to sexually assault someone later in life. Identifying the signs of bullying helps protect those future victims.

 

Sunburn treatment and prevention for kids

June 6, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

social-skills

 

Sunburn spares no one. Every person, from infants to the elderly, is at risk of sustaining sun damage and burns every time there is sun exposure. However, those individuals with the most sensitive skin, such as children are typically at higher risk than adults.

Learn about the most effective sunburn prevention and treatment strategies for children in this post.

 

Sunburn Sensitivity

In addition to age, individuals are born with different skin types. Some skin types are more sensitive and vulnerable to sun damage than others.

In particular, individuals with lighter skin tones tend to burn both more quickly and more deeply than their peers with darker skin tones. By understanding who is at greatest risk for sunburn and skin damage, parents can keep the risk of sunburn to a minimum using prevention techniques.

 

Sunburn Prevention

Prevention is the preferred method of ensuring sun safety. There are several proven techniques to prevent sunburn, sun damage, and the common long-term result of each, skin cancer.

Here are some of the best sunburn prevention tools for children.

– Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily, when the sun’s rays are at their peak strength.
– Cover up – including the head and feet – when going out in the sun.
– Use a sunscreen of at least 15 SPF (sun protection factor).
– If in water, reapply sunscreen of any strength at least every 60 minutes.
– Keep infants ages 6 months or less out of the sun entirely – their skin is so sensitive it can burn in minutes.
– Remember that visual clues may not show up for six to 12 hours after the sunburn or sun damage has occurred, so visual clues cannot predict the onset of sunburn.

 

Sunburn Treatment

Should a child sustain sunburn, here are the best immediate treatments to provide relief.

– Offer acetaminophen at an age-appropriate dose to ease pain and swelling.
– Apply cool compresses or bathe the child in cool water with a soft washcloth.
– Smooth on natural aloe vera gel to ease pain and swelling.
– Seek medical care if burn or symptoms appear severe.

By understanding proper prevention and treatment of sunburn, it becomes possible to predict when sunburn is most likely to occur and take steps to prevent it from happening.

 

6 reasons kids don’t stop bullying situations

June 2, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

Youth bullying is a major issue facing our children and the lack of action by other kids to step in and stop bullying only compounds the situation. But before you write off this inaction as a “Not my problem” mentality, take a look at the six reasons researchers discovered that are the root causes.

Six main reasons kids in particular do not step in to intervene or stop bullying of a peer or reach out for help on their behalf:

1. Assuming someone else, a parent or teacher, will intervene. Kids look up to the adults in their lives as authority figures. stop bullying

For children who witness bullying, if they do not see an adult intervene, chances are they won’t either.

2. Assuming he or she will draw attention and become the next bullying target. Bullying is scary. It is only natural to worry about becoming the bully’s next victim.

3. Assuming being a friend of a bully means supporting the bully’s actions. Kids’ brains still think in black and white.

They do not naturally draw distinctions in terms of what friendship means and where it begins or ends. A child who calls a bully friend will likely assume friendship includes support, even for actions he or she doesn’t necessarily agree with.

4. Assuming that the lack of a personal friendship between the bully and the observing child means they don’t have to speak up.

In the same way, if the witnessing child does not have some kind of social connection with the bully, that can equate to a feeling of powerlessness and continued silence.

5. Assuming the child who speaks up will have to wrestle with the challenges of doing so all alone. Kids do feel fear, often at a more primal level than adults, who are brain-equipped to distinguish between grades of fear.

If a child feels unsupported to highlight a wrong being done, they likely won’t.

6. Assuming that feelings of helplessness equate to actual helplessness to make bullying stop. Without specific instruction about how to speak up, a child may assume felt helplessness and actual helplessness are one and the same.

Understanding the six main reasons why kids don’t speak out against bullying is one big key to developing effective educational resources to stop bullying and the first step in providing appropriate empowering education to address the problem.

 

Debunking the popularity myth

May 26, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

teen-attitude

 

Awareness of bullying has dramatically increased in America over the last few years. There are many stories in the news about the disastrous consequences that sometimes take place.

However, many people who are not around the bullying on a regular basis fail to see the reason that it may be taking place. Previously, it was thought that bullying only comes from the top of the social pecking order.

Recent studies, however, have shown that the vast majority of bullying happens between kids in the same perceived social strata.

 

Why bully?

Bullying among adolescents typically is motivated by a desire for some sort of change in social standing.

While many people think that bullying comes from those that are already in a position of high standing among their peers, this is not the case. Instead, the majority of bullying comes from kids who are trying to advance their standing at the expense of their peers.

The question then becomes: What is the cause of this bullying and how does it occur in the first place?

Recent research has shown that children who bully are often victims of bullying or abuse themselves. This may be among their peers, but it could also be something that they have to deal with at home.

Children who have disruptions at home are more likely to bully at school. Problems at home can include divorce, abuse, violence, neglect or a stressful atmosphere. Other issues involve medical conditions, including depression or ADHD.

 

How do we counteract bullying?

It is important that schools make a diligent effort to understand that bullying may be coming from places that they may not expect. In one form or another, bullying happens to a majority of students.

Those who are looking for the social acceptance that they do not get at home are more likely to bully. They are also more sensitive to bullying from others.

Furthermore, parents can do their part to help with bullying by creating more stable environments at home.

There are certain factors that are hard to control, but a continued emphasis on children’s safety is not something that should be overlooked. Lastly, even in stable households, parents can teach their children about bullying and what to do in the event that they see it happening at school or among their friends.

Do your kids know about stranger danger?

May 22, 2014 | 0 Comment(s)

Children can be very trusting of others, an issue that can lead to serious problems if a stranger’s intent is malicious. While many strangers are nice, a child needs to learn to recognize a situation to avoid stranger danger from those who aren’t trustworthy.

A parent can help a youngster by teaching and reinforcing the following concepts.

 

Defining a Strangerchild-abduction

It’s important to emphasize that a stranger is someone not known to a child or to the family.

A common perception established through cartoons and other avenues is that a stranger looks scary, but this may not be the case in real life. Help a child to understand that a person’s appearance alone isn’t enough to determine whether they is nice or not.

Additionally, explain that being recognized or called by name by a stranger doesn’t mean that the child or family know that individual.

 

Good Strangers

It’s important to help children understand that not every stranger is bad.

Some strangers have jobs of protecting or helping others, and a child may need to approach safe strangers in instances of need. For example, firefighters and police officers are easy to recognize.

In work settings, school officials such as teachers and office staff may be strangers who can help. An employee in a store at a cash register or desk may be helpful, especially if a youngster is lost. Provide examples of situations and locations where help may be safely sought.

 

Understanding Dangerous Scenarios

Role playing or discussing dangerous situations can help a child who needs to better understand how to deal with strangers.

Warning signs of suspicious situations may include:

-An adult asking a child to disobey his parents
-An individual asking a child to keep a secret
-Any situation that makes a child feel uncomfortable

A youngster should be taught to deal with these situations as well. “No, go, yell and tell” is a simple mnemonic device to help a child remember what to do when in an uncomfortable situation.

-It is okay to say no to a stranger.
-It is important to go someplace else, leave the situation.
-It may be necessary to yell for help.
-It is important to tell an adult about suspicious individuals.

 

Safety Measures

Parents play a key role in keeping children safe from stranger danger by knowing where their youngsters are at all times. Additionally, parents can designate safe places and people to seek for help.