photo courtesy of Flickr user Eddie~S

From pushes on the playground to mean instant messaging, bullying is an issue that almost all children face at some time or another.  With a recent surge in media attention and a new focus on cyber-bullying, parents may wonder where and how to find the best information and ways of talking to their own kids about bullies. 

What if my child is the victim of bullying?

A recent article in Parenting magazine offered the following 3 Step process for parents:

Step One: Find out what's going on.  Get the facts and reassure your child that you will both work together on a solution.

Step Two: Help your child figure out how to respond.  Some responses include:

•  Stand tall and act brave
•  Ignore the bully
•  Stick with friends
•  Tell an Adult

Step Three:  Take action yourself.  Set up a meeting with the teacher, parent, or caregiver. 

What if my child's friend is the bully?

One of the hardest things for a child to learn is how to stand up for what's right, even in the face of possible scrutiny or embarassment. 

The US Department of Health and Human Services has a kid-friendly website called Stop Bullying Now that features info, games, quizzes, and webisodes all designed to address the issues of bullying , offer meaningful discussion starters, and help promote positive ways of combatting this childhood problem.  Check out this video featuring the character Melanie and her struggle with a friend who is a known bully.

What if my child is the bully?

It can sometimes be hard to tell if childhood squabbles are simply "kids being kids" or if there is a more serious problem.  

Stop Bullying Now offers the following advice to parents:

• Make it clear to your child that you take bullying seriously and that you will not tolerate this behavior.
• Develop clear and consistent rules within your family for your children's behavior. Praise and reinforce your children for following rules and use non-physical, non hostile consequences for rule violations.
• Spend more time with your child and carefully supervise and monitor his or her activities. Find out who your child's friends are and how and where they spend free time.
• Build on your child's talents by encouraging him or her to get involved in prosocial activities (such as clubs, music lessons, nonviolent sports).
• Share your concerns with your child's teacher, counselor, or principal. Work together to send clear messages to your child that his or her bullying must stop.
• If you or your child needs additional help, talk with a school counselor or mental health professional.

The Children's Library also offers some great books for both children and parents on the subject of bullying.  These are a few of our favorites: 

February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate and honor great and influential African Americans throughout history. 

Did you know that Black History Month was first celebrated in 1926? It was originally called "Negro History Week" (a term that we no longer use) and was started by historian Carter G. Woodson. Mr. Woodson was one of the first scholars to study African American history and promote the importance of discovering and understanding the history of African Americans here in the United States and around the world.

Here are a few inspiring books to share in celebration of Black History Month:

For young children:

Langston Hughes' melodic poem is paired with stunning photography by Charles R. Smith, Jr. to create a siimple, yet moving tribute to beauty in its particular and universal forms. 

For elementary-aged children:

Did you know that one of the 2011 Caldecott Honor books tells the story of a slave who went on to become an influential artist and poet?  Dave the Potter by Labban Carrick Hill is a beautifully illustrated, powerful true story.   

For older readers:

In this tour-de-force sequel to Chains, Curzon, a 15-year-old escaped slave, joins the Continental Army at Valley Forge.  Will he and his friend Isabel finally be granted true freedom?

More books to celebrate Black History Month.

Looking for in-depth information on famous African Americans? Check our Biography Resource Center or History Resource Center. 

Image via Flickr user Bill Ward's Brickpile

February 14 is coming up soon!  Get ready by creating Valentine's Day-themed crafts with Green Moon and Darien Library. 

Register by age group below.

Waitlist for Thursday, February 9 at 3 p.m. - Ages 3 to 4

Waitlist for Thursday, February 9 at 4:15 p.m. - Ages 5 to 7

Can the last Airbender save the world?

The Children's Library just received its copies of Seasons 1 and 2 of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Avatar was on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008, and features a boy named Aang who is destined to save the world. It was a huge commerical success (at one point it was the most-watched show in Nickelodeon's line-up) and in 2008 it won a Peabody Award.

It's an exciting, fast-paced romp through a world that desperately needs saving. Featuring adventures, betrayals, friendships, and plenty of comic hijinx in addition to great battle scenes, this is an excellent cartoon to bring home to boys and girls ages 7-12.

Come check it out today!

It's showtime, Synergy!

Pssst, parents! Remember your favorite cartoons from the eighties? They're back!

The Children's Library is now the proud owner of such classics as Jem, Strawberry Shortcake, She-Ra, The Get Along Gang, and Thundercats!

So come to the Children's Library today and introduce your children to the cartoons you loved as a child!

Get comfortable and explore the role of technology in the lives of children and teens as presented in these eye-opening documentaries.  This program will take place in the Community Room.

Monday, February 6 at 10 a.m.*

Remote Control - The average American child spends over 40 hours per week consuming media, the equivalent of a full-time job.  Remote Control offers a fascinating look at the centrality of media in our lives, revealing far-reaching effects that we are only beginning to understand.  39 minutes.

*An encore screening will be held on Monday, February 27 at 10 a.m.

March

Mondays, March 5 and 19 at 10 a.m.

Growing Up Online - This Frontline documentary looks inside the world of the new cyber-savvy generation of tweets and teens; a generation with a radically different notion of privacy and personal space.  60 minutes. 

Come to the Children's Library today, Thursday, between 1 and 6 p.m. to create your very own StoryTubes video! We have the tools you need, computers and iPads, to create your amazing book videos!

For more information on the project, click here.

Ask a children's librarian for additional information!

The Children's Library has just acquired two hot new items: vTech's InnoTab and Leapfrog's LeapPad.

The Children's Librarians are excitedly testing out the two devices, comparing and contrasting. So far, we love the near out-of-the-box readiness and simple verbal directions of the Innotab, but we prefer the physical design and app offerings from the LeapPad. They are both excellent early learning devices. If you'd like to come down and test them out yourself, stop by the Children's Library anytime today or next week.

 Looking for fun and educational websites for kids? The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), which is a division of the American Library Association, just launched a fantastic, newly-designed resource: Great Websites for Kids. 

The site compiles exemplary websites geared to children from birth to age 14 and are selected by a committee of librarians from around the country. To help narrow down the many choices and select only the best of the best, the committee uses the following guidelines (adapted from the Great Websites for Kids Selection Criteria): 

How to Tell if You Are Looking at a Great Website

• Author/Sponsorship: Who Put Up the Site?
• Purpose: Every Site Has a Reason for Being There.
• Design and Stability: A Great Site Has Personality and Strength of Character.
• Content: A Great Site Shares Meaningful and Useful Content that Educates, Informs, or Entertains.