Rosalind Wiseman's Blog, page 53
April 9, 2010
What Every Parent Should Know About Formspring: The New Cyberscourge for Teens
Last week, a Long Island high school senior committed suicide, and the website Formspring.me is suspected as a cause. Yet most parents don't even know it exists. Formspring is the latest cyberscourge for teens. It lets you open an account and allows your anonymous audience – usually your classmates – to communicate with brutal honesty. By which I mean breathtaking cruelty.
Formspring takes cybercruelty to a new low by making it appear consensual. You sign up for your own account...
April 5, 2010
'Queen Bee' Author Rosalind Wiseman on Bullying's New Realities
By Debra Nussbaum Cohen
April 4, 2010
Bullying is back in the headlines, as it is all too often, with the suicide of a teenager who was victimized by her schoolmates. Nine of them were charged last week with felonies. More can be read about it in this Sisterhood post. The Sisterhood spoke with author Rosalind Wiseman, whose 2002 book "Queen Bees and Wannabees: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence and the movie based on...
The "Myth" of Mean Girls???
When I first read Friday's New York Times Op-Ed "The Myth of Mean Girls," I couldn't believe what I read.
Were the authors really saying that what happened to Phoebe Prince in South Hadley, and other incidents like it, is not indicative of a serious, pervasive pattern of girls' aggression simply because violent crime committed by and against girls has dropped in recent decades? Do they not realize that it is irrelevant to back up their claim by citing statistics on murder, robberies...
April 2, 2010
Rosalind Explores the 'Mean Boys' in Her New Book with WGN News
Rosalind recently appeared on WGN News in Chicago to discuss her first novel for teens, "Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials." In the interview, she explains why we shouldn't just focus on "Mean Girls," and the true stories from kids that inspired the book.
April 1, 2010
What We All Should Learn from the Phoebe Prince Tragedy
When I read Rosalind's blog Tuesday about Phoebe Prince, my mind went on over-analyzing overdrive. I had a vast amount of fleeting thoughts that I couldn't quite make sense of. I immediately wanted to respond, but struggled tremendously with words. You see, I am writing this blog on what would have been the 31st birthday of my friend, Laura Fitzsimmons. While Laura's untimely death was not a result of relentless torment from others, the lingering question is "why?" Why did she do it?...
March 31, 2010
My Daughter's Classmate is a Tattletale!
Rosalind Wiseman answers a question from Karen, whose daughter's classmate is constantly inventing tales of bullying to get sympathy from her teachers. The student seems sweet, but Karen fears she is manipulating the other students and teachers in the class. Is her daughter's classmate really a tattletale, or is there more truth behind the classmate's "storytelling" than Karen's daughter is willing to admit?
March 30, 2010
Mass. DA Says 'Enough' to Phoebe Prince's Tormentors
Phoebe Prince committed suicide after relentless bullying and harassment by her classmates.
Today, Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel is my hero. In a Northern Massachusetts community where a group of students felt they had the right to harass, stalk, and humiliate Phoebe Prince—a 15 year-old-girl in their school—until she killed herself, and then ridicule Phoebe's Facebook memorial page after her death, someone with power must say, "enough." Yesterday, Scheibel did.
Thank...
March 25, 2010
I Think He Likes Me…
Rosalind Wiseman answers a question from Maddie, a 13-year-old girl who's pretty sure a guy friend of hers has a crush on her. She has been paying very close attention to all the flirty signs he's been giving her, but she's unsure about her own feelings towards him. Does Maddie's friend like her? And if he does, what should she do about it?
March 18, 2010
Rosalind Appears on the Bonnie Hunt Show
In case you missed it, check out Rosalind's appearance on the Bonnie Hunt Show where she talks about the pros and cons of being "best friends" with one's own children, cell phones, and gives some advice to parents in the audience.
March 15, 2010
My Son Used the 'N' Word!
Rosalind Wiseman answers a question from Mike, whose son is currently suspended for fighting. The fight started in part, because Mike's son used the 'N' word towards the African-American student he was in the altercation with. Mike is furious with his son for the blatant display of racism and wants to make sure this never happens again. How can Mike explain to his son that racial slurs are the wrong way to deal with conflict?
