Your child probably may have been or is being subjected to bullying in one way or another. Bullies come in all shapes and sizes and this abuse does not only include violence. Bullying is physical abuse, verbal abuse, or any type of harassment from one person or group to another. Whether someone says something degrading or embarrassing to someone else or physically threatens or harms another person, it is still bullying.
A more recent type of bullying called "cyber-bullying" is taking the world by storm. This bullying is seen online within social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace and is becoming more prevalent every single day. Although it is no doubt that we were bullied as children in one way or another, the world is changing and technology has enabled many more children with cell phones and computers to become bullies without even thinking that they are bullying. Within recent months, a few teenagers even took their own lives as a result of cyber-bullying. This is very serious and someone needs to address this to keep our kids safe in our community and to educate our children on why they need to avoid becoming a bully.
I am not an expert on this subject so to teach our children about Bullying, the Boys & Girls Club of West Orange invited in Gale Richter of Drug Free Programs. So far, Ms. Richter has facilitated her programs at Gregory School, Washington School, and Pleasantdale elementary. She engages our kids by putting on puppet shows, telling stories, showing videos, role playing, and even brings rewards for the kids participating in her program. Ms. Richter will visit us again in the Spring of 2012 with some new activities for the members in our after school programs on "Bullying". For more information about Drug Free Programs you can visit, http://www.drugfreeprograms.com.
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