As I mentioned earlier in the week, this week marks the last week of blogging here on TweenBeat. However, we’d rather not think of this as the end of TweenBeat, and in reality it’s not.

Instead of saying goodbye to your favorite TweenBeat authors, you can say hello to them, and four other new bloggers, on JustKiddin, our new blog for moms of elementary schoolers. You’ll find a great new look and more of the exciting conversation you’ve come to love.

You can also say hello to two new bloggers – and the same great new look – on Middleville, a blog for moms of middle schoolers. We all know there’s never a dull moment when middle schoolers are involved!

Thank you very much for you readership here at TweenBeat; we hope you will continue to visit us on the two new blogs!

Best,

Theckla

I must be in a sports mood with this nice weather outside so I’ll talk more this week about the boys and their on field adventures. We are about two weeks into lacrosse season and I am seeing some big changes in Jake. I even see a difference between this and basketball that is just ending for him. Up to this point, sports was still not very serious. He was in the little kid divisions and in some cases, did not even play games. Something has changed this time around.

Lacrosse Clinic Last Fall

I should have known from that first night he put on his lacrosse gear. If I could have taped him strutting back to the car in his helmet and pads you would know what I mean. He just acted different. There was a swagger to his walk like “look at me, I am a lacrosse player.” Last year it was more like ” Wow…I get to hold a stick!” He may only be 8, but he practices with kids ages 8-10 and I think he his stepping up his game. I can see an athlete now where they used to just be a kid running around on the field.

It really hit me after his practice this week. He came back to the car to head home and when I helped him pull his helmet off he was a sweaty mess! I had never seen him like that before after any practice. His response also told me things were no longer the same…..”what mom, I was running…the other kids are like that too.” Funny how moms notice little things like this and they become big moments. I will forever remember that time, by the back of the car, as one of the moments when I realized he is not a little boy anymore.

When did you have a moment like that?

Dear Readers,

I wanted to take a moment and let you know about some big changes we will be making to MomTalk to improve the overall experience for you.

This Tuesday, March 8, we will unveil a new look for all of our blogs. The new design has several exciting features, including:

• Author spotlights
• Improved search
• Improved navigation
• Monthly themes
• More health information you can use
• Shorter posts on the homepage, meaning visibility to more posts on one page

We will also be introducing two new blogs: JustKiddin’, a blog for moms of elementary schoolers, and Middleville, a blog for moms of middle schoolers. Debuting Tuesday, these two blogs replace TweenBeat, which as you know currently spans both school age ranges. We hope that each blog will better align with your children’s educational experiences and be more relevant for parents in these different stages. Not to worry – your favorite TweenBeat bloggers will still be here, they’ll just be blogging for JustKiddin’ instead. Look for them Tuesday!

Additionally, we will be extending TummyTime to cover pregnancy through the first year. We hope this will help moms who are expecting share experiences, conversation and dialogue with moms who are going through the first year of baby’s life. This change means CuddleBugs will focus exclusively on Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers.

Later in the week we will be unveiling a new look for MomTalk. The updates will place more emphasis on groups, as well as the forums & discussion threads. By focusing the experience on the conversations happening between moms, we hope MomTalk will become a better place for moms in the area to connect, share and discuss.

Please note that in order to bring you the changes each of the blogs will be down for an hour or two starting late Monday afternoon and into Monday evening. We apologize in advance for this disruption, but hope that when you return to the blogs on Tuesday morning you will be as excited about the changes as we are.

If you have any questions or comments about the changes, please feel free to email us.

Enjoy the weekend!
Theckla & the entire MomTalk team

Is there a difference between frenemy, arch nemesis or a bully?  Maybe, maybe not.  All have a long term effect on a child’s life and often into adulthood.  I recently watched You Again.  Funny movie, but the reality of how cruel classmates can be and how long lasting the effects were obvious.  I guess I was lucky and I didn’t have a bully.  I do know they exist and I know they can make life awful.  I worry for my children.  I worry that children are becoming more desensitized to cruelty and meanness.

Why has frenemy, arch nemesis and bully become accepted behavior and commonly accepted words?  Should our kids really have to “toughen” up?  Do we really have to tell our kids, “Don’t let it get to you.”  Is this healthy?  NO!  Every person should be able to feel safe and good about themselves.  Bullying does not have to be accepted as “normal” in growing up.  Does it exist?  Yes.  Is it commonplace?  Perhaps.  What exactly is bullying?

PBS television station wrote the following about the subject:

“Physical bullying means:

• Hitting, kicking, or pushing someone…or even just threatening to do it
• Stealing, hiding or ruining someone’s things
• Making someone do things he or she don’t want to do

Verbal bullying means:

• Name-calling
• Teasing
• Insulting

Relationship bullying means:

• Refusing to talk to someone
• Spreading lies or rumors about someone
• Making someone do things he or she doesn’t want to do

What do all these things have in common? They’re examples of ways one person can make another person feel hurt, afraid, or uncomfortable. When these are done to someone more than once, and usually over and over again for a long period of time, that’s bullying.

The reason why one kid would want to bully another kid is this: when you make someone feel bad, you gain power over him or her. Power makes people feel like they’re better than another person, and then that makes them feel really good about themselves. Power also makes you stand out from the crowd. It’s a way to get attention from other kids, and even from adults.”

Who are bullies?  It can be “friends”, family, classmates, teammates, “the kid who has it all,” taller, shorter, etc.  They all have this in common:  they are people who someone else or something is making them feel inferior so they are picking on someone else to feel important or validated.

How do you deal with bullies?  What do you teach your children about bullies?  Ideas?

We are about to wrap up basketball season and move into lacrosse and tennis. I am glad that Jake and Sam have tried just about every sport they could. I want them to at least experience each one and then decide what they like and what they can live without. To this point we have given a thumbs down to soccer (no fault of the coach , but everything else seems to be fairly fun for them. Luckily, they have had good coaches along the way who have been supportive and great teachers. I think that has made all the difference in the world.

Great coaches care and understand they are working with kids..not adults.

I applaud those who coach, just as I applaud anyone who teaches. For the most part they have had volunteer coaches on base or out in town. The coaches give up their time to help my child learn some new skills and have fun while they do it. Each time the boys have tried something new, they have jumped in knowing nothing. They have often played with kids who have played before and that could go one of two ways. They could feel so far behind and overwhelmed that they never want to try again or they can feel secure, safe and supported and given time to develop on their own time table. Thankfully the latter has been the case each time and they have had a blast trying new sports.

With tennis ramping up, the boys will get some time with their favorite coach and Jake is thriving on the lacrosse field. It is so fun to watch them have fun and get better each week. I wish every child had experiences like this on the court or field…..sports should be fun at this age. After all, if they don’t have fun now and learn the fundamentals, how will they ever make it to the Horseshoe at Ohio State on Saturdays??

GO BUCKEYES!

Have you had great coaches? Any bad ones in the bunch?