Obese or Abuse? | Tips for Eating Healthy Childhood obesity has become a national epidemic and approximately two million children are affected. Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity expert at Boston’s Children’s Hospital and associate professor at Harvard, believes that intervention at the state level will assist in preventing exaggerated health issues in obese children. According [...]

Mean Girls, Slumber Parties, and Suicide/3 Tips to Help Parents Understand Bullying Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Indirect Aggression may provoke adolescents to suicide if not addressed in time. On April 16, 2011, a slumber party in Minnesota became national news when eighth graders Haylee Fentress and Paige Moravetz were found hanging in the home of Tracy [...]

“Mom, I just want to ride my bike around the block to visit Anna,” says 9 year old Sarah.  Thirty years ago Sarah could ride the bus or ride around the block and parents would not worry. Unfortunately, parents have always had many reasons to worry about the safety of their children.  Today, there is [...]

“You’re a freak!” “Everyone thinks you are a loser!” Nobody likes you.” “If you died no one would notice or care! Sound familiar? 50% of students are bullied by the time they finish school and 10% are repeatedly bullied.  Bullying is a major issue and a buzz in the media.  As a bullying expert I [...]

“It’s exciting, thrilling, and even self-gratifying?” Could this be the reason teens are mutilating their bodies at an alarming rate? Or could it be a more serious mental health issue at the core of this abnormal conduct? Why has maladaptive behaviors become popular online? Is it because we are a media driven culture? Although, it’s [...]

Do you spend hours of your day looking over the status updates of your Facebook friends?  How do you feel after reading these updates?  A recent study done by Jordan (2011) from the Stanford University in California shows that Facebook can make us feel sadder and lonelier.  Using college students in his research, Jordan could [...]