The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

Do you know your school's bullying policy? As school will be opening, unfortunately we may start hearing about the ugliness of bullying and teasing of kids.  Many, if not most, schools have employed an anti-bullying policies and programs.  But what happens if they don’t work? A special guest post from Blair Wagner of A Way Through helps sort through this dilemma. Why Anti-bullying Programs Miss the Mark As I direct my focus to a new school year about to begin, I reflect back on the past school year and the approaches I’ve seen schools take to address school bullying among their students and their staff.  The one that really misses the mark is starting an anti-bullying program. It is common for us to see something we don’t like and to join an anti-[fill in the blank] campaign.  We talk about, write about, and complain about how bad it is.  Our focus is on resisting the thing we don’t like, in this case bullying.  We push agains...

Dr. Michele Borba , Parenting Expert and author of over 26 books, including The Big Book of Parenting Solutions , has just given us another sneak peek into her research on parenting. Recently featured on Dr. Phil , Michele Borba is one of our country's leading Parenting Expert and has put together an encyclopedia-like book of parenting solutions.  Inside you will find just about every answer to every issue from toddlers to teenagers.   Here is some her her findings on teenagers: Think drinking is only a “ boy ” problem? Just-released data from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America may make you think again. The survey results on 3287 teens in grades nine through twelve reveal a troubling trend— especially for girls. And why kids are getting high is particularly disturbing. Study highlights include: More than two-thirds of teen girls admit using drugs to help them cope with stress at home Half of the girls said that drugs help them forget their troub...

Fitsmi is a place for teen girls who are struggling with their weight and ready to make a change and they have now expanded into a place for parents to help their teens.  Here is a note from the founder who was recently featured on Dr. Oz . Dear Moms (and Dads), Welcome! My name is Linda Frankenbach and as a formerly overweight teen myself, I know how difficult it can be both to lose weight and to live with the social stigma that is so often an additional burden. So I founded Fitsmi.com, a website for teen girls struggling to lose weight, and a companion site, Fitsmi for Moms. Because when a teen decides to make a difference in her life, no one is in a better position to help her succeed than her mom. Unfortunately, many moms feel helpless to affect change in their daughters' lives. They often blame themselves, encounter dubious advice and feel isolated. And with a fast-food joint on every corner, the world can seem stacked against them. But it doesn't have to be that w...

It is hard to accept when we realize our sweet angel we once rocked to sleep as an angel can become defiant, beligerent and downright mean.  Connect with Kids recently posted an excellent article on how girls are becoming more violent. Source: Connect with Kids Girls and Violence “All that bad stuff is not going to take you anywhere...except you're going to be dead, in jail, or pregnant. Girls need to start doing something positive and think about your future.” – Toni, 16 years old Juvenile jails were once filled with boys and young men... but that's changing. 16 year old Toni says, "Girls are out there stealing, killing people, you know, doing all things that, you know, used to be just guys." In fact Toni went to jail for possession of marijuana. For the past decade, arrest rates for girls have been rising and new numbers from the federal government show that today one in four teenage girls has gotten into a serious physical fight, either at work or a...

Parenting years ago and having a teen get pregnant was, in many families, humiliating and shameful to the family. Today teens are having babies and some are not considering the consequences, or maybe are considering them however don't realize the "real life" situation rather than what they read. January 23rd, Saturday night, Lifetime Network will premier, " The Pregnancy Pact " at 9:00pm ET. Inspired by a true story, this movie depicts a fictional pregnancy pact between a group of teenagers. The film explores the costs of teen pregnancy and was prompted by the news reports from June 2008. Time Magazine ran a story about this pregnancy pact in a school where the teen pregnancies rose to 18 girls. The discussion of birth control is started by the school nurse who tries to convince the school to provide contraception to students to address the pregnancy epidemic but is met with great opposition from the school and community. According to the National Campai...

Source: Dove Self Esteem Fund Every Parent’s Back-to-School Tip Sheet for Today’s Teen Girl How to Avoid a Back-to-School Breakdown 1. Body Image Breakdown: When girls feel bad about their looks, more than 70%, ages 15-17,avoid normal daily activities such as attending school. o TIP: Your daughter’s body image starts with you! Show her each and every day how great you feel about your body and your looks. That will begin to set the tone in teaching your daughter about appearance and what it means to be proud of who she is – inside and out. By not insisting your daughter looks a certain way — whether it is what she wears, how her hair looks or how she has to behave in what she is wearing — you will build the foundation for how she sees her body and the importance of how she looks. 2. Super Girl Syndrome: Girls may respond to the pressure around them from school, media, parents and peers by trying to do it ALL (look perfect, get good grades and have a busy social life), and do it all perf...

A Way Through - The Female Freindship Experts. Recently I was introduced to this educational website for parents of daughters. You will find some great tips, advice and information to help you be a better parent to your daughter. Here is one of their recent Blogs on a hot topic - bullying. By Blair Wagner How Should a Girl Respond to an Emotional Bully? Let’s say you’re in a meeting at work and a co-worker rolls her eyes when you offer a suggestion to a problem your team is discussing. You’re tired of her constant non-verbal abuse and you decide to address her. Do you know what you’d say? What tone of voice would you use? What emotion would you portray as you walk up to her? This situation is stressful enough to make even the most socially savvy adult break into a sweat. Can you imagine doing it when you are nine years old? Or 13 years old? Pay Attention to Words, Tone of Voice, and Emotion Girls struggle with how to respond when they are on the receiving end of hurtful friendship be...