From school bullies to raising boys and baby names, we’ve scoured the parenting world to find you this week’s round-up. And with the official start of fall tomorrow, check out our guide to local farms where you can pick your own pumpkins!
One thing that school-aged kids have to deal with these days is bullying, especially on social media platforms. David Aronchick, founder and CEO of Hark, recently wrote a post for Huffington Post Parentsabout his kids going back to school and his worry about cyber bullies.
Today, our kids face a new form of bullying through the use of social media. Simply search “Facebook bullying” on Google and the horrors of what is happening in cyberspace to kids around the world is instantly revealed. I can’t imagine having to compete for status on Facebook and Twitter while also dealing with the turbulence of adolescence.
As many of you may know, bullying has become a huge topic of discussion, especially with the documentary Bully and the movement to get it a lower rating so that it could be shown in classrooms where it would make the biggest impact. Check out our website for an excerpt of the movie’s book tie-in Bully: An ActionPlan for Teachers, Parents, and Communities to Combat the Bullying Crisis about why children with special needs are easier targets for bullies. Amy Poehler was a guest on The Ellen Show this week, and she talked about raising her two sons, Archie and Abel.
Matt Gross, over at DadWagon, recently posted a piece he wrote about the process he and his wife are going through in picking out a name for their second child.
And yet we care—all parents care—because the name announces to the world not just who the kid is but who we, her family, are. If she’s a Rainbow, we’re hippies. If he’s a Michael or a John, you lack imagination. If she’s a Wah-Ming or an Aparna, you’re recent immigrants—or maybe third-generation arrivals looking to reconnect with your heritage. If there’s a Roman numeral at the end of the name, you’re tradition-minded. Or rich. Or pretentious. Or all of the above.
Celebrity parents have it easy. They’re not only allowed to give their kids wacky, outrageous names, they’re expected to. In my corner of Brooklyn, Gwyneth Paltrow last October showed up at the local park with her daughter, Apple, alongside Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who will probably return one day soon with their daughter, Blue Ivy. (My friend Tom, whose own daughter Ivy was born a month before Beyoncé’s, claims he inspired the pop stars.) Another neighborhood fixture, Michelle Williams, named her daughter Matilda, which by comparison sounds normal.
Was picking out your child(ren)’s names difficult? How many names did family and friends scoff at before you decided on a name? Or did you keep it a secret until the baby was born? If you’re looking for a family friendly art exhibit, look no further! Inspired by Ellen Key’s book Century of the Child, the Museum of Modern Art presents an exhibit of the same name, displaying an overview of 20th-century design for children. The exhibit focuses on the material world of children and designs including playgrounds, clothing, toys and games, nurseries, and furniture. Check out the exhibit’s website for more information, including a family activity guide.
