6 October 2008
Vermont’s Parents Get Girl Scout Help
Posted by admin under: Community Partners; Training; community service .
Is your sunny 10-year-old becoming sullen and disrespectful? Has your honor-roll student started finding excuses to stay home from school? Puzzled parents can learn how to help children navigate the treacherous waters of middle- and high-school at central Vermont’s second annual Parent University, to be held Saturday at U-32 High School in East Montpelier.
The morning of free events includes a panel discussion on bullying, workshops on child development and positive parenting, teen-age drug and alcohol use, adolescent health behaviors, managing money and talking with your children about their sexuality. There will also be opportunities to network with other families.
It sounds like there’s a major bocus on bullying.
“We have girls on the panel who talk about having bullied, talk about being bullied, talk about being bystanders to bullying, talk about responding proactively when it happens and trying to intervene, said Carmel Quinn, the council’s director of teen programs. “They will talk about their own experiences and the experience of their peers and what they have seen in their schools as a response.”
In January 2007, the council and Vermont Commission on Women released the results of a survey of more than 200 girls in grades 6-12 about bullying and harassment. The survey attracted considerable attention because of the prevalence of bullying – including cyberbullying – that was reported. One finding that surprised adults was the amount of bullying experienced and committed by middle school girls. (The executive summary can be read at http://www.girlscoutsvt.org/.) “The stories are the most powerful thing – to be able to hear firsthand from kids who are really honest, who really want to be heard and who really want to make a difference,” Quinn said. The best thing adults can do is “to genuinely listen,” she added. “The message they’re going to try to get out is, ‘Don’t underestimate what’s happening. Believe kids.’”
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Parent University will be in session at U-32 Saturday, Oct. 11 from 8:45 a.m.-noon. It’s free. Parents and other care-givers are invited. For more information, contact Ann Wheelock at 229-0321 x 5121.
Everyone, including the Girl Scouts of the USA, knows that kids don’t come with an instruction manual, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t places to learn about them. Good luck with this weekend’s event.
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