This article has been provided courtesy of nannyagency

Feb 26

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10 Telltale Signs Your Child is Being Bullied

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Bullying is a problem of epidemic proportions, and can affect every aspect of a child’s life. While visibility around the issue has been raised as the most severe cases make national news, there is still a prevailing idea that bullying is part of childhood and is only a sign of “kids being kids.” Parents of children who are frequently the butt of bullies’ jokes know that the problem is much more severe than mere child’s play. If you’re concerned that your child may be the target of schoolyard or cyber-bullying, here are some signs to be on the lookout for. 

1. Withdrawal from Activities – Has your child lost interest in extracurricular activities he once enjoyed? This could be a sign of your child being bullied. If he once loved his after-school clubs or teams and now actively avoids them, there could be harassment taking place that makes him reluctant to attend.
2. Eating and Sleeping Habit Changes – Noticeable changes in your child’s eating or sleeping patterns can indicate that she’s under some sort of stress, which could be the result of being targeted by bullies. She could have a lessened appetite because of the thoughts running through her mind of her tormentor. If she’s eating more at home than usual, it could mean that her lunch is being stolen. Her sleeping habits could have changed because she now has nightmares about the person picking on her. There are a variety of potential causes for these changes, so they should be investigated.
3. Irritability – Being picked on can put anyone in a bad mood, so try to look for the root of increased irritability or a shortened temper after school. Bullies wear on a child’s self-esteem, and a child with low self-esteem can lash out from that added tension.
4. Avoiding School – The occasional faked stomach ache is a common ploy to get out of school for a few hours of sleep or to miss a test she’s not prepared for, but regular attempts to get out of going to school may be a sign of a child who’s actively avoiding her tormentors.
5. Decrease in Grades – It’s difficult to concentrate on school work and getting good grades when that mean kid in class keeps kicking your chair or making fun of you. Your child’s grades might be suffering, not due to indifference to school, but due to a bully constantly nagging.
6. Fidgeting – If your child used to sit still very well and for long periods of time but now seems to fidget, it could be because of a bully. A physical bully may spur the “flight” half of the “fight or flight” instinct, causing them to be hyper-aware of their surroundings and always ready to bolt.
7. Unwilling to Discuss School – A child who avoids answering questions about his day or answers evasively could be hiding the fact that someone was picking on him. The part of the school day that has the longest impression on your child right now may be the fact that someone doesn’t like him and he’s being made fun of. It’s tough to remember the exciting parts of the day when your child’s thoughts are consumed by the torment of a classmate.
8. Acting Out – Increased aggression and violent outbursts can be an indicator of bullying, as kids who spend their days being harassed seek an outlet for their frustrations. Any sudden personality change should be cause for concern, but a turn in a more aggressive direction should be addressed immediately.
9. Being Mean to Younger Siblings – Is your child starting to pick on your other children? If so, she might have a bully she’s dealing with when you aren’t there. It’s natural to want to unload your burden onto someone else in the same way it was unloaded onto you. Your child could just need to get her anger out of her but doesn’t know how to, so she resorts to doing the same thing to her younger siblings that is being done to her.
10. Unexplained Bruises or Injuries – Physical bullies do still exist. If your child comes home with bruises or injuries that are not linked to the regular rambunctiousness of a child, it’s time to get concerned. Yes, it’s possible that he fell down on the playground, but it’s also possible that he was pushed down by a bully and is scared to tell you about it.

The shame and embarrassment that can accompany being bullied is often enough to keep kids quiet about their troubles, especially if they’re afraid that they’ll be subjected to retribution for tattling. Be patient with your child and let him know that you’re on his side, and that you’ll find a solution to the problem together.

The following article has been provided courtesy of NannyPro.com

How to Help Your Child Stand Up to a Bully Without Getting Beaten Up

2013 FEBRUARY 12

by Michelle

Once upon a time, bullying was regarded as a natural part of childhood and frequently attributed to “kids being kids.” These days, however, bullying is making headlines. Awareness of bullying and the inherent dangers it can pose has risen dramatically, but that doesn’t stamp the problem out altogether. With modern technology making it easier than ever for bullies to access their victims around the clock, it’s important for a parent to understand and recognize signs of bullying. Bullying can range from physically attacking someone to verbally assaulting them and from gossiping about people to cyber bullying them. Cyber bullying includes harassing or intimidating behavior via emails, text messages or social media sites. Because you can’t protect your child from everything she’ll encounter when you’re not there with her, it’s best to teach your child appropriate ways of avoiding such encounters or, if necessary, standing up to a bully without physical retaliation.

Recognize

Children who are bullied are at an increased risk of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. According to a study published in the Archives of Pediatric Medicine, children who are bullied are also more likely to contemplate suicide. If you notice your child complaining of aches and pains as a way of avoiding school, or if you notice abnormal bumps and bruises, it’s time to start asking questions. If they can’t explain certain injuries, missing articles of clothing or poor school performance, a bully might be the culprit. If your child is old enough to use social media sites, check in with them in regards to online accounts as well. Set boundaries and request access to the sites if things aren’t adding up.

Vocalize

If you suspect that your child is being bullied, start a conversation that allows him to speak freely without fear of judgment. Encourage him to speak up about his concerns regarding what’s going on at school. Ask him to describe the occurrences, how often they happen and who is involved. Ask him if any other children or adults have witnessed the accounts and find out what he has done so far to try and stop the bullying. Brainstorm ideas of how to avoid encountering harassing situations. Involve your child in this conversation; it will help them visualize appropriate ways of responding to a pestering bully. Be supportive in the discussion, but remain calm. It might be heart wrenching to hear your child talk openly about these types of situations, but it is important to be a calm influence, rather than another angry voice.

Socialize, Mobilize, Empathize

Encourage your child to stick with a group of friends when walking home from school, riding the bus or eating lunch in the cafeteria. Let your child know that it’s okay to ask adults or other school officials to accompany them. Bullies tend to target kids that stand out. Encouraging new hobbies and interests might help your child make new friends and find a circle of people with similar interests. If the bully is persistent, don’t endorse verbal retaliation or physical violence.  Teach them and encourage them to maintain their composure, tell them to turn and walk away. Children start to learn to empathize at an early age. Encouraging your child to empathize with the bully is a way of teaching compassion. If compassion is present, forgiveness is soon to follow, which can remove much of the emotional burden of being bullied. At the very least, it may help reduce the long term psychological effects of having been bullied as a child.

Follow-Up

Keep checking in with your child, even if it seems the bullying has subsided. Sometimes kids will become embarrassed that the harassment has continued and may feel both hopeless to stop it and mortified that they are repeatedly a target. Keep the lines of communication open. If the bullying hasn’t ceased, contact the appropriate authorities. Getting the school principal, bus driver or class teacher involved and aware of the problem is a good start, and will provide extra sets of eyes and ears when you can’t be with your child. It is also worth an attempt to contact the parents of the bully. Be prepared for a defensive response or outright denial, however. Many parents find it difficult or impossible to believe that they could raise a bully and may refuse to accept the situation on principle. By making them aware of the problem and attempting to calmly enlist their help in remedying the difficult situation your child is in, you may be able to get the p

THE NEXT BIG THING - BLOG HOPPING WITH LANNAH

The Next Big Thing:  Blog Hopping with Lannah Sawers-Diggins

Greetings from Australia everyone.  I am Lannah and this is my introductory blog which is part of a blog hop organised by Vicki M Taylor.  My heartfelt thanks to you, Vicki, for inviting me to be part of this.  I have never done anything like this before so please bear with me if I make boo-boos etc.  I will learn as I progress - I hope.

Up until a couple of weeks ago - make that last week, I had never even heard of a blog hop, but when I read Vicki's post I decided to 'apply' - and here I am.  But a description (for me at first and those unfamiliar with such a concept) of a blog hop is as such: (the original blurb):

'THE NEXT BIG THING is designed to raise awareness of our work, or work in progress.  We do that by answering ten questions about it.  We graciously thank the person who nominated us and tag four to six authors whose work could very well be THE NEXT BIG THING.'

So here we go, with my questions and answers:

What is the working title of your next book?

The Book on Stations, or The Stations book.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I have always been passionate about both the outback and writing.  Some years ago, I woke one morning with an 'epiphany' which has been mentioned in previous posts.  It was a birthday and I woke, feeling an overwhelming urgency to have my late father's book, 'The Sawers from Pitcairn' published and 'out there' - preferably before my mother died.  I had always wanted to write and have books published but - how?  Seriously, how do you have a book published?  Turning to good old google I eventually found someone who could offer exactly what I wanted and feverishly set about getting this book out.  And it happened - exactly a week following Mum's passing.  Damn. Lousy timing.  However I was reassured that she was happy knowing that something was finally being done - well, as happy as anyone can be facing that stage of life.  After Dad's book was published and I was on a roll, I decided that the time had come for me to combine those two passions - my writing and the outback.  So I am.

What genre does your book fall under?

This is a hard one.  It could be educational or travel, inspirational, geographical - any of these and more probably.  

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Given that I have around two to three hundred people involved so far, with more being added almost daily this is not easy to answer.  I would certainly look at Australian actors - but as the book includes foreigners who have moved to Australia and either visited or lived in the outback on stations, other nationalities would be needed too.  This would be a huge undertaking - as research for the book itself already is.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A treasure trove of information and educational material for the world to learn about.  That could change as I progress along this road but that could be it for the moment.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I would hope that it will be represented by an agency but only time will tell.  As I am absolutely determined that it will be published and I will do everything in my power to make sure it is the success it will deserve to be for all the people involved, so if it has to be self-published, then so be it.  But again time will tell.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Again not easy to answer as every chapter is being devoted to a different station and there are just so many different aspects involved.  I have been writing it, changing it, editing, adding, deleting etc etc etc since the start of 2012 and this will continue right through to publication.  As everyone who is involved will be sent every copy of the draft right through to the end, it will be a huge undertaking.  And one that I am absolutely thriving on.  I am having the time of my life, to date.

Just for the interest of, well, anyone and everyone, the choice of cover design and title for the book is going to become a competition for the children of the School of the Air in Australia.  Most of the bases around the nation have been wonderful enough to agree to support this and when the time comes (later this year, nearer to publication) they will announce the details of the competition across the air (internet) to all the isolated children around the nation.  The children and families will then design the cover and/or choose titles for the book, submit their choices direct to me by email (or mail if chosen) - I will then narrow the entries down to a shortlist (with the help of my daughters and a couple of other people) and these will then be emailed to a select panel of judges, most of whom will be celebrities in Australia.  Once they have made and returned their choices to me, I will send the winners' names around the country again to be announced over the SotA.  There will be two prizes, one for each of the design and title.

I will be keeping everyone up to date on progress of the Stations Book, or the Book on Stations as I travel along this wonderful road.  I have actually already begun doing this but details will become stronger.

For your reading pleasure, here are the links for some more great authors who are taking part in THE NEXT BIG THING blog hop:

Host Vicki M Taylor:  http://www.vickimtaylor.blogspot.com
Other amazing authors:  
http://www.gilagreenonline.com/
http://jacksmonster.wordpress.com/
http://www.angeladcoleman.com/
http://www.blackgirlguide.com/
http://www.sisterhoodagenda.com/
http://www.africanamericanmatchmaking.com/
http://www.chroniclesofhlstephens.blogspot.com/
http://www.susanspenceauthor.com/susan-spence-blog.html
http://www.deborahteramischristian.com/
http://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/au/2012/12/the-next-big-thing-post.html?m=1
http://quillstreetcafe.com/

               

                             

JAYDED

My first foray into fiction is progressing extremely well - maybe a bit TOO extremely well.  Once I get into the writing, the memories are just flowing back and, sad to say, nothing pleasant.  Some of it is actually quite eerie, which is surprising me - these appear to be memories I had locked pretty strongly away.  But not so strongly that they cannot escape, returning to 'haunt' me.  Another aspect which is surprising me is that there are a few things that I just - cannot - remember.  I have obviously locked them away so completely - so tightly - they are now absolutely refusing to budge. And normally that would be fine - but in this situation, it's not as if they are all important aspects needed for the story to flow.  So - I am having to improvise.  Fortunately other memories remain strong enough to allow me to do this without interrupting the flow and making these parts 'stand out'.  I am trying to inject humour, light heartedness, as well as bringing out the sadness and absolute and utter fear that I felt at the time - and indeed that I am feeling occasionally as I write and these memories return.  I am actually visualising the scenes and can see faces very, very clearly - as though this all occurred yesterday, or very recently.  Anyway, I am finding it very therapeutic - while the fact that I endured that six year nightmare will never be erased, the fact that I am writing it down, getting it out is probably the best thing I could be doing - and, yes, very very long overdue.

Stay tuned.

Oh...forgot about THIS one....

Another quick spider story before I start opening up/coming clean about another of my experiences/nightmares.   There are actually several of these and I have been asked to 'share' them all for the sake of other sufferers.  Will begin this next blog.

We did seem to keep choosing houses with more spiders living in or around them than was comfortable for me (but then I only need to see one for that to happen).  Our house in a suburb of Perth (Western Australia) was OK - cannot ever remember seeing any BIG spiders, only Daddy-Long-Legs and Redbacks - both of which are extremely venomous actually but the hideous Huntsman beats them all hands down in my book.  I do recall an incident with a Redback at the above mentioned house in Perth.  I remember seeing this perfect example seemingly sitting comfortably, minding its own business, on a bicycle on our back verandah.  I resorted to my old 'dealing' method again (didn't feel that I had a lot of choice) and told it to stay right where it was and I'd go and get something to kill it.  It was obviously a very good spider - or a very stupid one.  OK so it didn't understand English and I wasn't exactly fluent in spider-speak.  Anyway, needless to say it hadn't moved a leg when I returned with a full can of spray.  So I set to and gave it a quick burst, getting ready to spray again and keep at it until it died - but didn't move at all.  It should have moved - stupid thing.  After all I was firing point blank at it.  Obviously sillier than I thought - so I sprayed again.  And again - no movement whatsoever.  What the heck was this thing?  Its normal big black back with the superb red stripe - was all white and foamy now.  Huh?  So I sprayed again - and again - and again - and kept at it until, believe it or not, I emptied the can.  But not once had it moved - not a muscle.  No prizes for guessing that it had been dead all along.  Hmmmmm.....

Ah....now we did have some horrible spider experiences in all four of the houses we lived in when interstate.  I'll just have to see what I feel like talking about for my next blog - actually, thinking about it, the whole lot would be chalked up to being nightmares.

Ah well....time will tell.  Beware, be very ware and stay tuned.....

AN  AUSTRALIAN  MARITIME  TRAGEDY

157 passengers and crew lost as a result of a severe cyclone (Lua).  Date:  March 1912.  Sounds familiar?  Thoughts of the 'Titanic' are dredged up.

WRONG.  This is not the 'Titanic'.  This is the 'SS Koombana'.  An Australian maritime tragedy that, coincidentally, occurred shortly before that of the 'Titanic', in 1912.  But because of the latter, the former seemingly disappeared into oblivion.

History?  Absolutely.  And a very important part of our history in Australia yet, ask 99.9999999% of the population here if they have ever heard of it and you're more than likely to get a vague look in response.  But mention the 'Titanic' - hmmmm - completely different story.  W.  ONhat an essential part of history it is - how absolutely and disgustingly tragic that it was all but ignored and overlooked because of a similar tragedy that occurred on the other side of the world, just weeks later.  

The 'Koombana' was an Australian ship.  Built in Glasgow it became the pride of the now defunct Adelaide Steamship Company but was lost at sea, thanks to Cyclone Lua, in March 2012.  Sadly and in my opinion, very poorly, little is known and there appears to be an equal lack of interest about it.  

The 'Koombana' was one of our ships - an AUSTRALIAN ship.  Many of the passengers were Australian.

A centenary was held to mark the 100th anniversary of this fateful story at Port Hedland, where the 'Koombana 'was lost.  There has also been a more recent exhibition mounted by the Fremantle Maritime Museum - but it seems none of this is helping to 'educate' the general public about our tragedy, whereas most of them know all about the 'Titanic'.

It appears that the wreck of this ship has never been found - but then not a lot is known in general about this particular ship nor the fateful voyage and it's tragic end.  Whereas there is sooo much information, including at least one movie, about the 'Titanic', which is wonderful for the latter - but why was the 'Koombana; so seemingly overlooked, even by Australians?

Bringing the details of this maritime tragedy to light and giving it the attention and exposure it so badly deserves is absolutely essential - for our history and for the education of Australians.  For those people who lost loved ones.  For everyone.

One couple who lost family members has decided to do just this - they approached me (and none of us will ever know why they did) about it and I am now doing my level best to organise much more exposure, via the media if at all possible (it is an Australian maritime tragedy so why the hell not???) and I am in the process of writing a book about it.  A few things are in the pipeline.

Should there be any media interest at this stage or if anyone has any other information relating to this tragedy, please contact me.  Believe me, it is all very welcome.  

A huge launch will be organised for the release of the book itself.

Watch this blog and my websites for further information as it comes to hand.

MY BIRTHDAY AT BROOME - SUPERB

Life continues to be FANTABULOUS - and no, that wasn't a word, but is now.  We have just been up to Broome, in the north west of Western Australia and had the most superb few days there - for my birthday.  We did a lot of walking, had some wonderful meals, met some fascinating and fantastic locals (or some not so local originally but all seem to live and work in and around Broome and love it) and even found some extraordinary dinosaur footprints.  I love history - it fascinates me but was never remotely interested until I visited the UK 'quite a few' years ago - that's when I really saw history - true history.  All man made and it was and still is fascinating.  But up until visiting Broome I have to admit I had not really appreciated Australia's history - we have been civilised far too recently for my interest.  True - Australia is on one of the oldest continents in the world - but I still didn't really appreciate it - until Broome.  Dinosaur footprints.  That's what did it for me.  Looking at those dinosaur footprints.  And just trying to think - it was rather overwhelming to me.  Yes OK, thinking at all is rather overwhelming for me - but this - these dinosaur footprints.  And the rocks into which they have been embedded - OK that would have been sand back then but the entire thing.  Just amazing.  Absolutely amazing.  For my birthday itself - we visited the most fantastic Indigenous publisher.  Wonderful array of books, all authors Indigenous.  Eldest daughter even gave me a superb Indigenous diary for next year - already in use and so very proud of it.  Picked up several more books too.  Onto watch crocodiles in action when eating - Okkkkkk.  Er...WOW.  Also fascinating but not something I am in a hurry to do when there isn't a solid protective fence separating us.  Hmmmm.  But wouldn't have missed that for the world.  Then onto a camel ride - on Cable Beach.  How absolutely fantastic.  Fantabulous even.  The day complete with a lovely meal with my family in a superb restaurant at Cable Beach, watching the famous sunset there.  What more could a girl want.  How lucky am I?  I've challenged the girls to try to top that for next year.  Pretty hard.  Two days later it was down to Perth and earth with a resounding thump when we returned home.  What a wonderful birthday.  Was also thoroughly spoiled with heaps of FB messages, texts and a few phone calls.  Wonderful.
Bestest (whoa - another new word - hey, I'm on a roll here...)
Byeeeeeee - until next time.