Bullied

July 2, 2012
When the author, a blogger for the online community of the Chicago Tribune, posted about her six-year-old daughter being bullied at school because she was sporting a Star Wars backpack and water bottle, cyberspace rose to her defense with a flurry of posts, e-mails, and letters. Goldman decided to delve more deeply into the subject, discovering that 160,000 children stay home every day from school because of bullying, 42% of kids have been bullied online, and one in five teens has been bullied at school in the previous year (“bullycides” are also an alarming trend). Although progress has been made, Goldman and the experts and parents she interviews reveal that there’s more work to do. Goldman identifies kids who are at high risk for bullying (i.e., “geeks”; children with disabilities; gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual students; and kids who do not choose gender-specific toys). In fact, any nonconformist is a likely target, and society ups the ante with gender-specific marketing and expectations. In this informative book, Goldman also addresses prevention, intervention and reconciliation, helping parents recognize the warning signs of emotional distress and offering techniques for dealing with bullies (who also need help). The author calls upon parents, schools, and marketers to collaborate in order to change damaging cultural attitudes and create a culture of acceptance and safety for all kinds of kids.

July 1, 2012
A well-researched guide to combating bullying. Goldman's daughter Katie wasn't interested in being like all the other girls; a big Star Wars fan, she loved her Star Wars water bottle. Her mother was concerned when Katie told her she didn't want to bring the water bottle to school anymore. When Goldman pressed her, Katie broke down in tears, upset that the boys at school told her that Star Wars was only for boys. "Is this how it starts?" she asked herself. "Do kids find someone who does something differently and start to beat it out of her, first with words and sneers?" Goldman addressed the issue with the school and wrote about the experience online, touching off a flood of support from Star Wars fans and, eventually, bullying prevention forums, Twitter and celebrities. Goldman's empathetic guidebook examines the ways in which bullying happens, from the teasing that takes place in the hallways of schools to the cyberbullying that runs largely unchecked through the digital halls of social media. Academic research into bullying, while useful, often fails to bridge the gap between insight and practical solutions, but Goldman effectively boils down the research into statistics that flow naturally into a larger narrative. The author focuses primarily on how girls are affected by bullying, both as victims and as perpetrators, with less consideration of male victims. This is understandable given Goldman's experience, but a greater examination of bullying of boys would provide a more complete picture. However, this book is a must-read for parents with children of any gender. Valuable support, resources and concrete actions for safely navigating the social wilderness of adolescence.

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March 1, 2012

After her first-grade daughter, Katie, was roundly bullied for having what was considered a gender-inappropriate Star Wars thermos, Goldman--purveyor of a popular blog on Chicago.now--wrote a post that went into overdrive. Here, Goldman offers concrete advice on dealing with bullying, something one in five teens say they have experienced in the last year. At 25,000 not the hugest printing, but the issue is in the news.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.