Community Empowerment Series II: Dr. Michele Borba

Michele signing books.

Dr. Michele Borba, Parenting and Bullying Prevention Expert, was featured at the Community Empowerment Series in St. Johns County on Saturday, March 9th, 2013.

It was a full house with parents, students, teachers, guidance counselors, principals, deans, therapists, kids that started anti-bullying programs and residents that wants to make a difference in our community.

If you didn’t know about bullying and how it effects children before this seminar, you certainly learned about it coming out of it.  Many were brought to tears hearing about the story of the young boy that hung himself.  Though many of us know that these are not isolated stories when children are teased and harassed relentlessly both online and off.

Dr. Borba opens her lecture by asking everyone to introduce themselves to the people around them.  Yes, let’s get to know our neighbors and be nice!

Dr. Borba would frequently ask the audience to stop, and take a minute to write down exactly what she just said and what it means to them.  What are they going to learn from this–how will they implement this into their life.  (Honestly, everyone was busy taking notes, but it was nice for her to take a break for a few seconds so we could catch up on our notes)  She is like a walking talking encyclopedia.

Bullying has been found to happen in four major hot spots at schools:

1. Cafeteria
2. Hallways
3. Bathrooms
4. Playground

Michele talking about bullying prevention.

As a matter of fact, over 43% of children fear going to the bathroom at school for fear of being bullied.  Every 7 minutes a child is bullied on a playground.

Dr. Borba recommends you speak with your kids about a P.L.A.N.:

P:  Pal up always have a friend with you
L:  Let an adult know if you are being bullied
A:  Avoid those hotspots
N:  Notice your surroundings, stay alert

If you see someone being teased or bullied or you are the victim, it is important to stay C.A.L.M. according to Dr. Borba:

C:  Calm down
A:  Assert – be assertive
L:  Look at  the bully eye to eye (Dr. Borba’s tip is to loo at the color of their eye’s)
M:  Mean it 

After her almost 2 hour speech, she took time to speak with students and the audience and signed books for people.

St. Augustine is anxious to have her back again next year!

Watch a preview here.

Is Your Child A Bully?

This is a fantastic short video that gets straight to the point with parents about the possibility about your child being a bully.

With all the talk of bullying prevention, what do you do if your child is the one that needs preventing? Parenting Expert Dr.  Michele Borba doles out some tough love for the bully's parents.

Brought to you by Kids In The House, a new website full of educational resources and advice for parents from experts. Follow them on Twitter and join them on Facebook.

Is Your Child Being Bullied?

Signs your child is being bullied by Dr. Michele Borba:

What are some signs your child is being bullied according to Dr. Borba?

• Unexplained and reoccurring physical marks, cuts, bruises and scrapes
• Unexplained loss or damage of toys, school supplies, electronic items, clothing, lunches, or money
• Doesn’t want to go to school or other activities with peers
• Fears riding the school bus
• Afraid to be left alone: wants you there at dismissal, suddenly clingy
• Suddenly sullen, withdrawn, evasive; remarks about feeling lonely
• Marked changed in typical behavior or personality
• Appears sad, moody, angry, anxious or depressed and that mood lasts with no known cause
• Physical complaints; headaches, stomachaches, frequent visits the school nurse’s office
• Change in eating or sleeping; nightmares, cries self to sleep, bed wetting
• Begins bullying siblings or younger kids. Bullied children can sometimes flip their role and become the bully
• Waits to get home to use the bathroom. School and park bathrooms-because they are often not adult supervised-can be hot spots for bullying.
• Suddenly there are fewer friends or doesn’t want to be with the “regular group”
• Ravenous when he comes home. (Bullies can use extortion to steal a victim’s lunch money or lunch)
• Sudden drop in grades. Bullying can cause a child to have difficulty focusing and concentrating
• Blames self for problems; noticeable decline in self-esteem; feels “not good enough”
• Talks about feeling helpless or about suicide; runs away

Watch video above.

Community Empowerment Series (CES)

Education is knowledge and power that help us to keep our kids safe.

St. Johns County, Duval, Clay, Putnam, Nassau and Flagler all welcome three renown experts to World Golf Village.

Presented by St. Johns County Education Foundation and Communities in Schools, The Community Empowerment Series will cover topics that parents, educators and everyone that are involved in today's youth are concerned about.

• Sexual predators, and how to talk to your kids about private parts and stranger danger.
• The social jungle that kids are facing today. From peer pressure to bullying and cyberbullying.
• Importance of digital safety and the critical topic of teaching our kids and especially teens today about how to protect themselves from identity theft.

For these three topics we have brought in the country's leading experts. You may have seen them on your TV and also read their books!

Session one: Stacey Honowitz, who has served twenty years in the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit of the State Attorney’s Office, will be speaking about sex crimes in Florida and the sentences that they carry. She will also be addressing how to talk to your young kids about private parts.
Session two: Dr. Michele Borba is one of the most popular parenting experts in our country and the bullying prevention expert. She will have a workshop on the Social Jungle our kids are dealing with today, from peer pressure to bullying. Her speaking topics will include friends, cliques, relational aggression, cyberbullies, bullies and peer pressure. Watch the video.
Session three: Theresa Payton will discuss the importance of digital safety, identity theft with kids, and technology in today’s world as it concerns our children. There will also be deep discussion on how to create, maintain and protect a healthy digital identity for all family members, adults and children alike.

All three of these speakers are nationally recognized in their field and have been on many media outlets. We are honored they are coming to our community to help empower us with knowledge to keep our kids safe and our families educated in a society that is ever changing.

Tickets are limited. They are reasonably priced.
If you are a business or individual that would like to sponsor or be a vendor at these events, please visit our "Getting Involved" page. There are opportunities for everyone!

Don't miss these exciting educational and fun events! 

Visit www.communityempowermentseries.com for more information on the dates, times and all the details!

Pass this on to your friends, family, and neighbors!

The Essential 6 R's of Bullying Prevention

By Dr. Michele Borba

Michele offers proven ways to stop peer cruelty. Her proposal to End School Violence (SB1667) was passed into California law. She has worked with hundreds of schools to reduce bullying and create compassionate, just learning climates.

Free 32 page download of Dr. Borba's training manual 6 R's of Effective Bullying Prevention, and be sure to watch the companion video below:
(click to download)  

 Watch Dr. Michele Borba's 20 minute Keynote speech on the 6 R's of Bullying Prevention.

Visit www.micheleborba.com and follow her on Twitter.

Community Empowerment Series

St. Johns County Florida is getting ready for 2013 in a big way!

Starting February 2, 2013 will be a lecture series that will be like no other.

Celebrity speakers on parenting topics that can't be missed, will have limited tickets.  This event will be held at The World Golf Village Hall of Fame IMAX Theater.

Starting immediately we are accepting sponsors.  You won't want to miss this opportunity!

The levels for individuals start at $100.00 and go as high as $10,000.00 for corporate sponsors.

Please check our site for the benefits of sponsorship levels.

I am personally proud to be part of St. Johns Education Foundation and Communities in Schools for St. Johns County.  Both are excellent organizations that are always putting our kids first.

Click here to visit Community Empowerment Series and visit our renown speakers!

February 2, 2013: Stacey Honowitz
March 9, 2013: Michele Borba
April 27, 2013: Theresa Payton

One Laptop per Child - #OLPC

5000 Laptops to 5000 children.

OLPC mission is to empower the world’s poorest children through education.

We aim to provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop. To this end, we have designed hardware, content and software for collaborative, joyful, and self-empowered learning. With access to this type of tool, children are engaged in their own education, and learn, share, and create together. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future. – OLPC


Parenting Expert and author of over 25 parenting books, Dr. Michele Borba is one of their United States Ambassadors. On her recent trip to Miami she visited schools in Liberty City where she witnessed these laptops interact with students that were in other countries.

Dr. Borba says;
“It was simply amazing! Each click of the mouse was helping them become more connected both to the world and to a brighter future.”

On February 28th, Michele Borba and a team from #OLPC delivered 5000 laptops to children in Nicaragua. (Watch video).

Michele Borba with the kids!

 

For more information on One Laptop per Child and inspiring stories, visit http://one.laptop.org/.

Maybe you would like to donate, volunteer or find out how you can become involved.  Click here.

Here are the stories from literally around the world – changing the world, one child at a time through one laptop at a time. Click here…. just like they are doing.

Watch a slideshow and video of this amazing trip here.

XO Laptop

When Big Issues Happen to Little Girls: How to Prepare, React, and Manage Your Emotions So You Can Best Support Your Daughter

The average fifth-grade girl knows a cutter, a classmate with Asperger's syndrome, or has a friend with two fathers. Issues like these are big, and they are just drops in the bucket. A generation ago, we worried more about kidnapping and divorce than cyberbullying and prescription-drug abuse. With little personal experience in the new, complex issues that plague our daughters on a daily basis, how can parents today help their girls cope better and raise a generation of girls who are resilient and self-confident instead of insecure and confused? This book answers that question with concrete action steps and easy-to-follow talking points that help parents keep the lines of communication open and better support their daughters.


Author Erin A. Munroe, LMHC, who has been counseling adolescents for more than a decade, is in a unique position to help parents understand how girls cope and react to stressors and adult-size problems today, so they can be active and effective participants in their daughters' reality. When Big Issues Happen to Little Girls also helps parents learn about themselves and control their own emotional responses to the big issues their daughters face, including:

· Sexuality, sexual orientation, STDs, and pregnancy
· Mental health issues and learning disabilities
· Bullying, peer pressure, and cyberbullying
· School anxiety, social anxiety, and other phobias
 Substance use and abuse and the newest addictions
· High expectations for young girls that often cost them their childhood

Raising girls is a big responsibility. Let When Big Issues Happen to Little Girls become your twenty-first-century parenting strategy and give your daughter the gift of resiliency and confidence that she is deserving and capable of experiencing.

Order today on Amazon.

Sue Scheff: Sorry!

Sorry!
By Trudy Ludwig
Illustrations by Maurie J. Manning

Have you noticed how apologizing has become almost a lost art these days? A great number of adults lately (not kids!) seem to have forgotten how–from government officials to movie stars to plagarizing authors to “poor-sport” athletes. And if the offender does give an apology, notice how it often sounds insincere?

How are kids going to learn this great skill unless we model it ourselves?

Rarely do children’s books model for young readers personal accountability and responsibility the way Sorry! does. Trudy’s thoughtful, one-of-a-kind story on the power of apology shows how a child can take ownership of a hurtful behavior and then right his or her wrong.

The story also offers invaluable life lessons on empathy and compassion to children (and adults) alike. Trudy’s story helps kids see from the other side — how their actions were hurtful and why they should make amends.

Pick up a copy! Use it in your classroom, Boys and Girls Club, or with your kids at home. It’s one of those perfect books you want to keep on your shelf for the perfect moment.

Review by Michele Borba, Parenting Expert

Sue Scheff: The BIG BOOK of Parenting Solutions

As a Parent Advocate, I am a huge fan and friend of Michele Borba! I am very excited that her 23rd book will be released in September 2009.
The reviews are in and they are outstanding!

The Big Book of Parenting Solutions: 101 Answers to Your Everyday Challenges and Wildest Worries

Publishers Weekly

Borba, author and Today Show regular, employs a cookbooklike approach in her latest volume: rather than read through the entire tome, parents can flip to topics pertinent to their family. Borba opens with a friendly overview, noting that contemporary parents feel more stressed and find their roles increasingly difficult (June Cleaver, she points out, didn’t have to deal with cyberbullying or Facebook). With characteristic wit, Borba identifies the “seven deadly parenting styles,” including helicopter, buddy, incubator, bandage, paranoid, accessory parenting (judging themselves by their kids’ accolades) and secondary parenting (relinquishing power to such outsiders as marketers or the media).

In nine sections on family, behavior, character, emotions, social scene, school, special needs, day-to-day and electronics, the author urges readers to roll up their sleeves and get back to basic, instinctual parenting. As she tackles 101 issues ranging from sibling rivalry, lying and peer pressure to cell-phone use and TV addiction, Borba helps readers identify the reason underlying the behavior or problem, and work with 10 essential principles of change. With her no-nonsense yet compassionate voice, Borba once again delivers an indispensable resource for parents of toddlers to 13-year-olds. (Sept.) Publishers Weekly

The Big Book of Parenting Solutions is available now for advance orders — on online stores or at Amazon.

Follow Michele Borba on Twitter @MicheleBorba

Congrats Michele!

Sue Scheff:12 Simple Secrets Real Moms Know: Getting Back to Basics and Raising Happy Kids

By Michele Borba

Best-selling parenting guru Michele Borba, the mother of three, has surveyed 5,000 mothers for their experience and wisdom in raising happier, more confident kids by returning to a more natural, authentic kind of mothering. She shares 12 top secrets of successful moms culled from her research and shows how to apply them to your family.

You’ll learn how to…

Apply the 12 essential principles that child experts and 5,000 parents say matter most in good mothering
Raise children with confidence, resilience, and character
Create a customized mothering plan and use it so it leads to success with your child
Cut the guilt and reduce the stress by sticking to what really counts in parenting good kids today
Discover simple ways to make big differences in your family’s life

Use the Amazon Box on the sidebar to order today!

Follow Michele Borba on Twitter @MicheleBorba

Sue Scheff: Nobody Likes Me, Everyone Hates Me

By Dr. Michele Borba

The Top 25 Friendship Problems and How to Solve Them

Do you wish your kid had more friends or could keep the ones she has?
Is teasing, gossiping, bullying, or cyber-bullying a problem?
Is she often left out or rejected by other kids?
Does he just follow the crowd? Are you concerned about his friends?
Does she complain that she’s unpopular or that nobody likes her?
Are you at a loss for how to help your child handle those play dates, sleepovers, being shy, too sensitive, too competitive, or having a bad reputation?

Look no further. The resource you need to solve these problems and boost your child’s social competence is in your hands Based on a survey of five thousand teachers and parents, Nobody Likes Me shows how to teach your child the 25 most essential friendship-building skills kids need to find, make, and keep friends, as well as survive that social pressure from peers.

Learn more - type the book title in the Amazon Box and order today!

Sue Scheff: Building Moral Intelligence by Michele Borba Ed.D.

By Michele Borba

The Seven Essential Virtues that Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing

Television, games, the Internet, peers and other forces shape children's morality, but consultant and educator Borba (Parents Do Make a Difference) argues that it is parents who provide the most enduring modeling and instruction. Kids, she asserts, should be fortified against the onslaught of increasingly negative cultural influences violent video games, nasty music lyrics by parental involvement and guidance.

Designed as a guide for parents and caregivers of children from three to 15 years old, the book describes an epidemic deficiency in the moral development of American kids and outlines seven virtues (Empathy, Conscience, Self-Control, Respect, Kindness, Tolerance and Fairness) to be engendered in children. Devoting an identically designed chapter to each virtue, she defines the virtue in accessible and secular language. She then provides a test for parents to assess their children and offers practical actions parents can take on a daily basis.

Throughout, her tone is pragmatic and optimistic. She advises parents to make sure they are providing a moral example that they would want their children to follow in other words, watch their own behavior. She advises parents to be direct about their own moral beliefs and encourage specific virtuous behaviors. Borba concludes the book with a helpful resource list.

A packed storehouse, this helpful, informative and hopeful book will be dog-eared over years of consultation.

Type the book title in the Amazon Box on the side and find it quickly! And don't miss Michele Borba's upcoming book, The BIG Book of Parenting Solutions.

Sue Scheff: Don't Give Me That Attitude

By Michele Borba

Does your kid never take no for an answer and demand things go his way?

Do her theatrics leave you drained at the end of the day?
Are you resorting to bribes and threats to get your kid to do chores?

Does he cheat, complain, or blame others for his problems?

Do you feel you’re running a hotel instead of a home?

Are you starting to feel like your child’s personal ATM machine?

What happened? You thought you were doing the best for your child and didn’t set out to raise a selfish, insensitive, spoiled kid. In one of her great parenting books, Don’t Give Me That Attitude! parenting expert Michele Borba offers you an effective, practical, and hands-on approach to help you work with your child to fix that very annoying but widespread youthful characteristic, attitude. If you have a child who is arrogant, bad-mannered, bad-tempered, a cheat, cruel, demanding, domineering, fresh, greedy, impatient, insensitive, irresponsible, jealous, judgmental, lazy, manipulative, narrow-minded, noncompliant, pessimistic, a poor loser, selfish, uncooperative, ungrateful, or unhelpful, this is the book for you!

Learn more and order today from Amazon! Type the title in the Amazon box on the sidebar.

Sue Scheff: Parents Do Make a Difference: How to Raise Kids with Solid Character, Strong Minds, and Caring Hearts

By Dr. Michele Borba

Amazon Review:

Once you open the book, though, it's just as clear that, marketing aside, the book was not actually written as part of the parents vs. peers debate, which it has absolutely nothing to do with. Nor is it a scholarly work, in the vein of Harris's book.

The original title of this book was probably something like "The Eight Skills of Raising Successful Children." These simple skills, which Borba (author of 36 other educational publications) has researched and workshopped across the country, then implemented in the curriculum of three elementary schools, are commonsensical, feel-good affirmations for parents and kids. Borba uses lots of lists: the aforementioned eight skills, "four steps to developing positive self-beliefs," "four steps to enhancing social competence," and so on.

The "success tips" and affirmations are pretty straightforward, as with this suggested "pillowgram": "Slip a message under your child's pillow. 'Kevin, I loved looking at your drawings today. You are so artistic! Sleep tight! Love, Dad.'" These are fine, basic self-esteem builders; unfortunately, they can sometimes veer too much on the cloying side. But for parents who want to help their children develop the eight skills (self-confidence, communication, getting along, perseverance, self-awareness, problem solving, goal setting, and caring), it should be of significant help.

Read more about Michele Borba at www.micheleborba.com and follow her on Twitter @MicheleBorba - a wealth of parenting information!

Sue Scheff: The Big Book of Parenting Solutions - Coming Soon!

By Michele Borba Ed.D

“The Big Book of Parenting Solutions" is a comprehensive resource packed with real life parenting solutions that you can really trust!”– Bobbi Conner, host of the nationally syndicated public radio show, The Parent’s Journal and author of Unplugged PlayThe only parenting book you'll need for kids 3-13.

This down-to-early guide offers advice for dealing with children's difficult behavior and hot button issues including biting, tantrums, cheating, bad friends, inappropriate clothing, sex, drugs, peer pressure and much more. Each of the 101 challenging parenting issues includes specific step-by-step solutions and advice that is age appropriate.

Pre-order today and be guaranteed the lowest price and immediate deliver when the book is released.

Find it on Amazon fast - type the title in the Amazon Box on the side bar.