The bullying cycle usually begins with verbal harassment before escalating to more serious behavior. Your child’s reaction to the bully’s very first attempt may determine whether she goes from a one-time target to a long-term victim. The most common advice bullied kids receive from well-meaning parents is to just “ignore it and they’ll go away.” …
The Call is Coming from Inside the House! When the Abuser is Your Partner
For many parents, learning their child has been sexually molested or assaulted is about as bad as it can get. But it can get worse still if the abuser is someone the parent is in an intimate relationship with. Children who live with their married biological parents experience the lowest rates of abuse and neglect, …
Playing the ‘Stranger Adventure’ Game
You can teach your kid how to differentiate between safe and unsafe people by playing the “Stranger Adventure” game. In this game, which you can play with your child anytime, anywhere, you simply observe the people around you and talk about them. This isn’t about being catty or making snarky comments about people; it’s about …
The 99.999+ Percent
99.999+ percent of the world is made up of people your child doesn’t know, and nearly every one of those gazillion people pose absolutely no threat to your child. Teaching her that strangers are not to be trusted can cause her unnecessary fear and anxiety when she encounters people she hasn’t met before. Kids often …
Predator Repellant
The number one thing predators don’t want is to get caught. This is their biggest fear. Below is a list of things your child can do to repel predators. Predators are likely to be put off when your child: Walks confidently and with purpose. Taking up as much space as possible, holding her chin up, …
How Predators Groom Their Victims
Grooming is the main way predators manipulate their targets to gain their trust and then take advantage of them. Predators are pros at quickly assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their chosen targets and deciding which tactics will be the most effective for each child. According to Steve Kovacs, author of Protect Your Kids! The …
Who Are These People?
If you’re going to protect your chipmunk from “predators,” it’s important to know who they are. Some people like to comfort themselves by believing that predators are complete monsters who lurk in the shadows, but in reality, they look like ordinary people and come from all walks of life. They’re shared ride drivers, they’re teachers, …
The Benefits of Raising a Little Baby Badass
Throughout your darling’s childhood, he’s going to encounter tons of people, most of whom you both know fairly well—at daycare and pre-school, on play dates, at events, in your own home—and any one of them could be a predator. I don’t care how alert you think you are; you can’t keep him in your sight …
A Word about Worry
I’m going to stop for a minute to talk about worry and how to release it because, frankly, it’s freaking you and your child out and it’s not making him any safer. While it’s important to be informed about the dangers your child faces, such knowledge is destructive when it spirals into worry and obsession …
Parenting in the 21st Century
Your world (today) isn’t even remotely close to the world I lived in when I was parenting back in the 80s and 90s. I’m not saying there weren’t school shootings and bullies to deal with, but it wasn’t, like, IN YOUR FACE EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF THE DAY, NO MATTER WHERE YOU LOOKED! AAAAAHHHHHH! I …