Teasing part 1

I am cleaning off my desk this weekend. Several articles and various papers have collected and I’m sorting, tossing and dealing with them. I came across an article on teasing. Glynnis Whitwer in When Your Child Is Hurting says children can be more likely to be a victim of bullying if they are overly sensitive to good-natured teasing. Unfortunately, the article I read from a local preschool warned against teasing—adults shouldn’t tease because young children aren’t sophisticated and can’t handle it and parents should intervene if an older child begins to tease. We are to eliminate teasing from our behavior. As the article continued, it warned against over-protective parenting that rescues their child too soon.


So what is good-natured teasing? When is it age appropriate? How would you teach the difference between good-natured teasing and verbal bullying when different kids have different levels of sensitivity?

Not just about teens

10 Things Teens Wish Their Parents Knew

I think this is a great article and would apply for those younger as well.

To the future!

The following post is part of a blogfest*. I have never participated in one of these before, but since I’m all about trying new things (remember the self-expansion, expanding your borders?) I decided to give this one a try. Besides, I thought it would be a good confidence booster (who doesn’t need one of those once in a while) to remind me of my goals.


Dear Jenny—published author,
You did it! You realized that childhood dream of being a published author. When you wrote that Winnie-the-Pooh fan fic in the blank page of that old address book could you really imagine this day? And can you believe what you actually got published? You’ve come a long way, struggled and grown a lot through silly poetry, songs, teen angst stories and even some goofy fan fiction. You finally found your voice and your calling. You survived all the rejection letters, your kids survived your scatter-brained-ness, and your husband survived you rambling on and on and on …


While you can take a little time to enjoy this little victory, you know it’s time to get serious. You thought you were serious before, but you’ll have to take your writing and your focus to the next level now. You are published so this really is your job. But at least you’re getting paid for it! Yay! But seriously, you’re going to have to be more organized. Tweak that schedule. Just remember to carve out some time for your family where you TRY to turn off the writer and chill.


Congrats and may the muse be with you!


Love,
Jenny—aspiring writer


*this blogfest is Letters to the Future and is not just for writers. Is there something you want to remember in the future?

self-expansion, self-improvement, self-esteem

There was a sermon on one of my missions trips in high school that has stayed with me all these years. That sermon marked a milestone in my life. The sermon was about the Jews expanding their borders as they spread the knowledge of God to the people groups around them. Each of us on the trip, as several churches had converged on Reynosa, Mexico to minister, were encouraged to expand our borders—to reach beyond ourselves as we reached out to others.

self-expansion

As I read the above article about self-expansion and marriage, that sermon came back to me. Dr. Lewandowski says, “People have a fundamental motivation to improve the self and add to who they are as a person.”
How do you feel when you learn something new? How do you feel when someone close to you learns something new and they share the experience with you?

On the outside looking in

Feel like an outsider, a weirdo, a nerd? Looks like the future holds potential and promise.

Geeks versus popular

You're wearing that?!

"In 2007 ... a report linking early sexualization with three of the most common mental-health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression." So when parents think they are buying these things to help their kids self-esteem, it's backfiring.

Parents don't dress your girls like tramps

What are you eating?

Interesting information on food dyes and behavior. And this program isn't just about kids with ADHD. They are finding "normal" kids and adults benefit, too.

The Feingold diet program

Article from Seth Godin

I thought this was interesting.

Bully-Victim Cycle

Michael Hyatt on Validation

I encourage you to watch the whole video even though it's 16 minutes. Don't you think a little validation could go a long way in boosting someone's self-esteem?


Validation

Truth from Taylor Swift

I'm liking this girl more and more. I think she was bullied growing up, too.

Taylor Swift "Mean"

Let's see if this works

I love the message of this song

Superchick "Rock what you've Got"