My child was sexually harassed on the school bus & the reality set in
Yesterday should have been a normal day. It started off that way. But instead it became a first for my eldest daughter. My daughter asked a boy to stop using profanities, and instead, he used them more and more, especially directed at her. And then he threatened her, repeatedly.
When the bus did stop, she ran as fast as she could and into my arms. Her whole body shook with fear and anger. That was the day our daughter became the victim of sexually violent language. She is ten years old. The boy was twelve. She was riding the school bus home from fifth grade.
“Are you a boy or a girl?” How do you explain gender to a child?
My kiddo is biologically male, but when kids ask him if he’s a boy or girl, he says, “I’m me. I’m a person.” Kids, however, don’t accept this answer and pester him to the point of tears. I don’t know how to tell him the difference between boys and girls, or if I want to tell him that there is a difference at all (besides anatomically).
How do you explain gender to a four-year-old?
How do you deal with an adult bully in the family?
For about a decade, I’ve been handling a cycle of bullying from an in-law. It’s not exactly like a workplace bully — I can’t just quit my family. But I’d like to be able to not focus on this person while at family gatherings and somehow enjoy myself with the people there that I love. Anyone got any advice for this?
On being the only female at the skatepark: The pressure, bullying, and the sexism
As a lone female in a skatepark full of men, you stand out. They make comments. They laugh. They criticize. But most upsetting is that harassment and unwanted advances are encouraged when you are a singular women around a large groups of men. This is my story of skate park misogyny. Then let’s talk about your tips or advice for being the only female at the skate park? How do you handle the pressure, the bullying, and the sexism?
How I deal with online hate (as someone with 20k+ followers)
I get a lot of messages of support and kindness every day from people, both men and women, who say that seeing me, a fat babe, being so confident and at home in my skin is inspiring to them. I also get a lot of hate messages every day from trolls who tell me to kill myself, send death threats, and tell me I’m ugly using every kind of language imaginable. So, how did I get over it? How do I not let the hate get to me…
Workplace bullying: It happens, it sucks, and here’s what you can do
According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, targets are usually independent, ethical, nurturing, “‘go-to’ veteran workers to whom new employees turn for guidance.” That was me in a nutshell. In 2003, Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik defined a cycle of Employee Emotional Abuse (aka bullying), here’s how that exact cycle played out in real life…
What happens when your personal photos go viral and you get attacked online?
We’ve talked about what happens when your wedding goes viral and people hate it. But what happens when your personal photos go viral and people seemingly hate YOU. Offbeat Empire reader Barbara Reggio left this insightful comment on our Offbeat Bride post…
How do you prepare your kids to stand up for themselves — and for other kids?
If my kid ever witnesses another child being bullied (or is the child being bullied), my hope is that she will stand up for the child and for herself. How are you talking to your kids about defending others?