- Press Releases
The nasty text message your 13-year-old received from a classmate saying that she is fat and ugly isn’t just mean. It’s an act of bullying. And the taunts, shoves, kicks, and pushes your 10-year-old son faces everyday at school aren’t just cases of “boys being boys.” They’re also bullying.
“Bullying is a dehumanizing act that can take many forms,” says one of this country’s leading authorities on bullying, Barbara Coloroso. “It can be physical, such as beating up a classmate. It can be verbal, such as referring to someone by a racial, religious, or ethnic epithet. And it can be relational, such as shunning or excluding a peer. With the advent of the Internet, there is now cyber bullying, with the spreading of denigrating and hurtful language and images 24/7 throughout the Web.”
During a series of community presentations at Parents Place, Jewish Family and Children’s Services family resource centers, February 7 – 10, 2011, Coloroso will talk to parents and educators about how to raise ethical, sensitive, and responsible children who can resist and respond effectively to bullying behavior. The author of The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander, as well as other books that offer practical parenting tips, Coloroso will be speaking on these topics:
“Just Because It’s Not Wrong Doesn’t Make It Right: From Toddlers to Teens, Teaching Children to Think and Act Ethically”
Mon., Feb. 7, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton (co-sponsored by First 5 San Mateo County, Childhood Matters radio show, Bay Area Parent, and Parenting on the Peninsula)
Wed., Feb. 9, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Congregation Beth Sholom, 301 14th Ave., San Francisco (co-sponsored by Golden Gate Mothers’ Group, Childhood Matters radio program, Bay Area Parent, and Congregation Beth Sholom)
“Parenting with Wit & Wisdom: Practical Advice for Raising Self-Disciplined and Compassionate Children”
Tues., Feb. 8, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto (sponsored by First 5 Marin; co-sponsored by Corte Madera Larkspur Mothers Club, San Rafael Mother’s Club, Southern Marin Mothers’ Club, Ross Valley Mothers Club, Bay Area Parent, and Childhood Matters radio program)
Thurs., Feb. 10, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, The Glaser Center, 547 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa (co-sponsored by California Department of Social Services, Sonoma Family Life, and Winzler & Kelly)
Tickets to all presentations are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Register online at www.parentsplaceonline.org.
In addition to her community presentations, Coloroso will be holding workshops on bullying for teachers and mental health professionals. Check the Parents Place Web site for details about and registration for these workshops in San Francisco, on the Peninsula, and in Marin and Sonoma counties.
For more information about these programs or other Parents Place and JFCS programs, call 415-449-1294 or email [email protected].