In the uproar around the suicides of Ms. Prince, 15, and an 11-year-old boy subjected to harassment in nearby Springfield last year, the Massachusetts legislature stepped up work on an anti-bullying law that is now near passage. The law would require school staff members to report suspected incidents and principals to investigate them. It would also demand that schools teach about the dangers of bullying.

Forty-one other states have anti-bullying laws of varying strength.

In the Prince case, two boys and four girls, ages 16 to 18, face a different mix of felony charges that include statutory rape, violation of civil rights with bodily injury, harassment, stalking and disturbing a school assembly. Three younger girls have been charged in juvenile court, Elizabeth D. Scheibel, the Northwestern district attorney, said at a news conference in Northampton, Mass.

Appearing with state and local police officials on Monday, Ms. Scheibel said that Ms. Prince’s suicide came after nearly three months of severe taunting and physical threats by a cluster of fellow students.

“The investigation revealed relentless activities directed toward Phoebe to make it impossible for her to stay at school,” Ms. Scheibel said. The conduct of those charged, she said, “far exceeded the limits of normal teenage relationship-related quarrels.”

It was particularly alarming, the district attorney said, that some teachers, administrators and other staff members at the school were aware of the harassment but did not stop it. “The actions or inactions of some adults at the school were troublesome,” Ms. Scheibel said, but did not violate any laws.

Read entire article here

-By Holly Epstein Ojalvo, nytimes.com

School-Assisted Abortion a Shocking Lesson

Parents of school children in Seattle are learning a shocking lesson, when it comes to some very important decisions they don't have a say. The mother of a 15-year old girl recently discovered that Ballard High School helped her daughter get an abortion and never informed her.

But it doesn't end there. The school can also send children off campus for mental health care and drug addiction treatment without their parents ever knowing. Supporters say the confidentiality allows teens who are too afraid to tell mom and dad to get necessary treatment.

Parents signed consent forms for off-school treatment thinking it was limited to emergency health care when the parents could not be reached. But the teen health clinics at 14 Seattle schools are about much more. They have a full-time registered nurse, counselor and nursing assistant on hand to help kids with more sensitive issues.

When the 15-year old girl's pregnancy was confirmed, they counseled her on the options. The mother says they encouraged her to have an abortion and not tell her parents. She claims her daughter was told that if she informed her parents they would have to pay for the abortion, otherwise it's free.

The teen clinics are administered by the King County Health Department. Officials say school clinic workers are supposed to encourage girls to include their parents in the decision. They will not comment on the specifics of the case.

As for the fact the girl was called a taxi and transported by herself to a clinic to have her abortion then driven back to finish her school day, officials say that's not unusual. They would not say how many girls have been helped to have an abortion.

Washington State is one of thirteen states that does not have either a parental consent or parental notification law. Girls of any age can obtain an abortion without having to tell a parent.

State lawmakers included mental health care and drug counseling on the list of services kids can get without parental notification.

By: Dan Springer, FoxNews.com

How to Build A Relationship with Your Child

Parenting is very challenging, because each child has their own unique needs. The best approach to meeting the needs of each child is to build a relationship with them from the time they are born until they leave this world. You should always consider how your actions will negatively or positively impact the development of the relationship.

Here are 12 steps every parent should consider in building a relationship with their child.

Step 1: Respect
Every parent should Respect their children in front of others regardless of their behavior. This will teach them how to respect you and others. Avoid trying to embarrass them in front of others in an attempt to change the negative behavior. It might work for the short term but long term it will backfire.

Step 2: Effort
It will take great Effort to understand your child especially when they are making wrong choices. When a child makes a wrong choice, take the time to talk with the child to verify why the choice was made. Don’t accept “I don’t know” but avoid getting angry because the door of communication must remain open. They will tell you the reasons for their decision, when they are ready, if the relationship is healthy.

Read Steps 3-12

by Billy J Strawter Sr, christian-parent.com

A Mother Needs Faith, Not Perfection

. . . we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. . . . ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 (MSG)

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me.
They have clung to me all my life. ~ Abrahan Lincoln (1809-1865)

A mom is like the orchestra conductor in the symphony of her daughter's life. Mom, if you tap your baton to the sheet music of Scripture, some amazing things can happen in your daughter' s heart.

Moms have a profound influence on us—for good, or not. Both of us [Doreen and Pam] feel grateful for positive, proactive mothers who cared for each of us and influenced our lives in amazing ways, in spite of their own personal pain or any drama going on in their private lives. Our mothers' influence gave us a heart for serving others and the confidence to lead.

Read entire article.

By: Pam Farrel and Doreen Hanna, crosswalk.com
Raising a Modern-Day Princess

James Dobson signs off, for now

Everything has its season, the Bible says.

For Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, one season will end today. But another will soon begin.

An estimated 200 million people worldwide will tune in Friday to Dobson’s final turn as host of the “Focus on the Family” radio show. After 33 years, Dobson will finally say goodbye to the Colorado Springs-based ministry he founded.

From a modest weekly radio show in a two-room rented office in Arcadia, Calif., it grew into a multimillion-dollar empire, and Dobson grew from an unknown child psychologist to one of the most influential evangelical leaders of our time, advising presidents as casually as he advised moms.

But the send-off has been muted by Dobson’s announcement in December that he’s starting another Christian ministry and radio show similar to the Focus enterprise.
Dobson, 73, has said he formed the new ministry because the traditional family model is breaking down. “I have asked myself how I can sit and watch the world go by without trying to help if I can,” Dobson wrote. “That is what motivates me at this time.”

Dobson and his 39-year-old son, Ryan, both of whom declined to be interviewed for this article, hope to launch their new ministry May 3 with the airing of their co-hosted radio show, “Family Talk With James Dobson.” Dobson has said "Family Talk" was not created to directly compete with Focus on the Family.

-By Mark Barna, gazette.com

Today’s Troubled Teens Need Solutions That Work

In the past people have relied on all sorts of approaches to help kids be able to kick drugs, but in reality drugs have been an issue since ancient times when the drug of choice tended to be alcohol of some form or another. Today, kids face the same temptations as adults, but they are less equipped to be able to handle the threat to their health and well being so it is up to adults to step in and do what we can to help these kids get their lives back into their own hands. Finding a great residential drug treatment center can help pull the teen from the place where they are suffering and give them a new look at life where they can make serious changes and actually affect a difference in their own life. This kind of approach can accomplish a great deal of good and help them to find out who they are outside of drugs or alcohol. This is the very first step to serious healing.

When we are looking at these centers there are all sorts of factors to take in, but the key is to look at the heart of the program or programs being offered to find out what makes the place tick. If we can look into the philosophy of treatments we can get a solid understanding of what the organization is seeking to do for kids and how they intend to help troubled teens turn their lives around and shape behaviors that give them rewards instead of further woes. Starting here is the best approach to choosing the right care for a teen today.

-Qualihits

Drug Rehabs in Houston:

• The Right Step
• Mark Houston Recovery
• Memorial Hermann Prevention and Recovery

Teens may face criminal charges in cyberbullying case

The mom of a frightened 14-year-old Newburyport High freshman said her “heart was just breaking” over the relentless cyberbullying her boy was subjected to by cruel pranksters who now could face criminal charges.

“It has to stop,” said the distraught mom, who alerted police after recovering from the shock.
Three Newburyport teens could face identity theft allegations for setting up a bogus Facebook account where the woman’s unsuspecting son became the target of their cyberhate.

“My heart was just breaking,” said the mom of the Facebook farce.
Her boy ended up eating lunch alone and confronting fellow students flamed by his online alter ego. He became ostracized and even contemplated leaving school, she said.

The boy told the Herald yesterday his alleged tormentors should pay.
“They kind of get what they deserve,” said the 14-year-old. “I would ask them why they did it. I’m just curious as to why they would do something like this and spend so much time.”

A juvenile clerk magistrate will decide the teens’ fates at a closed-door hearing on Tuesday.
“It amounted to cyberbullying,” said Newburyport police Lt. Mark Murray. “The problem is that the cyberbullying law is not put into effect yet.”

Read entire story
-By Laura Crimaldi, BostonHerald.com