Sue Scheff: Bullying Webinar - by Education.com

Bullying is part of your child’s life – find out how to reduce it in your neighborhood, at school, and online.

Education.com and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) invite all parents to participate in a powerful and free web seminar that will reveal common myths surrounding bullying, the real facts, and actions parents can take to reduce bullying. The web seminar will be delivered by renowned bullying expert Dr. Shelly Hymel, PhD who will present a highly interactive session with plenty of time devoted to answering participants’ questions. Don’t miss this event – chances are your child is experiencing bullying. This is your chance to find out how you can help.

When: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PST

Virtual Relationships

Source: www.onteenstoday.com

This is a post by one of our teen writers: Nate is a 16 year-old living in Los Angeles, CA and he writes his own awesome blog at Naterocks.com.

There is a new trend rising up from the scary underworld of technology. What has long been reserved for the supreme losers of the nerd world and is now gaining more and more acceptance in the “real” world. What is this scary trend? It is something called a Virtual Relationship. A virtual relationship can be just like one in real life; the two people call each other their girlfriend or boyfriend, they can talk to each other and see each other, however there is one major catch, they have never met in person. A virtual relationship is taking the saying “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” to the extreme.

This trend exists in the “grownup” too, but in the teen world it has become an acceptable form of dating. What is often misunderstood about virtual relationships is that the emotions evolved with one can be very similar or even completely identical to ones that take place in the “real” world. While there are many articles written about how it is not a normal relationship, many psychologists who have done research in the area claim that the relationships and friendships are indeed real.

Another reason that virtual relationships are ridiculed by many adults is that the people in the relationship could be lying to each other and one of them could be a predator. However with the introduction of social networking sites like Facebook, doing so has become harder. Additionally, a virtual relationship may be safer than one in the “real” world because the parties involved do not often plan on meeting and there is no chance of getting mono or an STD in a virtual relationship

STOP BULLYING NOW!

So you're being bullied, huh? That can feel pretty awful. But, no matter how bad it makes you feel sometimes, you should know you're not alone. That's right ... there are plenty of kids all over the world who go through the same things you do every day. And, even though you may feel helpless sometimes, there are a lot of things you and others can do to help stop the bullying. Give these tips a try.

Always tell an adult. It's hard to talk about serious things with adults sometimes, but they can help put a stop to bullying. Tell an adult that you trust and can talk to—your parents, your teacher, your school counselor, your coach, your neighbor. If you've told a grown-up before and they haven't done anything about it, tell someone else. And if you're afraid to tell an adult that you have been bullied, get another person—like a friend or a sister or brother—to go with you. Having someone else there to support you can make it a lot less scary. Tell the adults exactly what has happened—who did the bullying, where and when it happened, how long it's been happening to you, and how it's making you feel. If you talk with an adult at your school, ask them what they will do to help stop the bullying. It is their job to help keep you safe. Most adults really care about bullying and will do everything they can to help you.

Learn more http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4031198492495064998