Join me for BLUE SHIRT DAY!

From Krysten Moore, Youth and Bullying Prevention Ambassador – Love Our Children USA and STOMP Out Bullying:


It’s that time of year again, back to school shopping is in full swing and the summer is winding down. Although things get crazy with the start of a new school year we need to focus on one important thing and that is to be considerate and respectful to everyone we encounter throughout our day.

Bullying has become an epidemic and I need your help to stop it. The first step to stopping bullying starts with you today. If you haven’t already taken the pledge to STOMP Out Bullying, I’d like to suggest you do – today and everyday.

You can even take bullying and cyberbullying awareness to the next level by participating in BLUE SHIRT DAY (Love Our Children USA’s initiative) by wearing a Blue Shirt Day on Monday, October 4th 2010. Tell your friends and family and get as many people involved as you possibly can.

I hope you will take a stand and join me by wearing a Blue Shirt on Monday October 4th as the day of worldwide prevention to Stomp Out Bullying. You can make a difference, and the way to start is by showing your support and wearing a Blue Shirt on Monday, October 4th.

Just because bullying has been around for a long time doesn’t mean it needs to exist forever so make bullying a thing of the past.

Visit http://www.stompoutbullying.org for details — and make a commitment to STOMP Out Bullying one positive word at a time.

Why BLUE SHIRT Day matters!

A special message from Cati, your Teen Ambassador:

Wow- I can’t believe the new school year is upon us. It seems like yesterday was the last day and now I get to see all my friends again on the first day. I am so excited for all of the new opportunities and challenges this year will bring. Especially organizing BLUE SHIRT DAY at my school again, it was a blast! Last year was the first time I approached my principal about organizing a BLUE SHIRT DAY at my high school in San Diego. Everyone at my school was happy to participate! This year, I’m thinking BIG, that is why I am asking you to take a stand against bullying and organize your own BLUE SHIRT DAY at your school. If you have ever been bullied, witnessed someone being bullied, or have even heard about bullying, I encourage you to help stop this vicious trend and take a colorful stand on Oct 4, 2010 by simply wearing a BLUE SHIRT. It really is that simple! You have the power to take a stand, be your own hero, and help defend others who may not be able to defend themselves. I want to unite under BLUE and STOMP Out Bullying everywhere across America – around the world. So can I count on you to wear BLUE and make October 4th the day that bullying prevention is heard around the world?

Visit our sister site www.stompoutbullying.org


Visit www.stompoutbullying.org for details.

Girls or Boys? Who are the bigger bullies?

We know that bullying is an ongoing problem which has reached epidemic proportions, with a distinct difference between the actions and responses of boys vs. girls.


Whenever you hear of bullies one might think of boys with their fists tightened ready to fight. We always think of girls as verbal bullies and mean girls who socially alienate and exclude others.

Today we see a rise in boys using verbal bullying, gossip and social exclusion, while we see girls who bully with a lot of it related to sports.

And with the internet, both boys and girls cyberbully at an alarming rate — and it’s anonymous, making it that much easier for kids. With 43% of kids being cyberbullied, it’s been found that girls are cyberbullied more than boys.

Whether its boys or girls bullying and/or cyberbullying, it’s out of control and clearly inappropriate.

We must STOMP Out Bullying!

Kid healthy cooking "must haves' that last in your freezer

As we know the Center for Disease Control reports that childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of childhood obesity among kids aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.


Although parents are so busy, many are finding that cooking at home with healthy foods helps in the way their kids are eating.

The idea of “fresh food” is wonderful but may not always be a reality with work and family schedules.

The next best thing is have staples in your freezer so that you can squeeze in a few homemade meals in for your family during your week.

READ MORE OF THE ENTIRE STORY HERE

Cyberbullying: Is it a cry for help or a need for attention?

Jessi Slaughter, an 11-year old Florida girl whose profanity-laced video spurred online death threats after she claims she was cyberbullied on Facebook, told Good Morning America and other news sources that she has no intentions of staying off the Internet, which is also a decision backed by her parents.


Jessi's rage, graphic language and violent threats that she used against her online tormenters has everyone talking.

She told ABC News: "I'm going to continue making my videos, I'm going to continue updating my Twitter and going on Stickam and stuff -- just going to be a little more careful with who sees what I'm doing," the girl told ABCNews.com. Because she is only 11-years-old only screen name is being used.

Jessi broke down on the video which she made on her webcam. Even her father appeared on the video in an absolute rage.

She created an Internet firestorm by posting an almost five-minute video raging against online bullies who had called her names and accused a friend of raping her.

READ THE ENTIRE STORY HERE and WATCH Ross Ellis, Founder and CEO, Love Our Children USA and STOMP Out Bullying on  the ABC News Nightline video in response to this story.

Kids’ restaurant meals may not be so “happy”

According to the Center for Disease Control childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of childhood obesity among kids aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.


Kids menus at restaurants aren’t so happy! Ask Mary Jo Messito, Director of the Obesity Clinic at New York’s Bellevue Hospital who told news sources that “Children’s meals at restaurants are garbage.”

READ THE ENTIRE STORY HERE

Animal abusers: a precursor to violence against humans

Just last month I reported about the two LI teens who viciously tortured and killed an innocent turtle.


Now a 22-year-old Albany man admits drowning a cat in his bathtub and torturing two other cats.

According to Associated Press and CBS News, Caleb Capen faces one to four years in prison after pleading guilty Friday to felony animal cruelty. This past February he was arrested after a police officer found a dead cat burning inside paper and plastic bags in a snowbank.

Police went to Capen’s home where they found two more cats with broken bones from abuse. He told police that he had adopted a cat who didn't get along with the other cats and admitted to stepping on the cat, squeezing it, striking it with a wrench and then drowning it. He'll be sentenced in September.

According to a 1997 study done by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Northeastern University, animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people and four times more likely to commit property crimes than are individuals without a history of animal abuse.

READ MORE OF THE ENTIRE STORY HERE