A close friend of mine, told me that her son had been taken out of class to meet with the school counsellor, without her knowledge. Her son had been retaliating lately, to other children hurting him physically and verbally. He is a beautiful boy, who is very often misunderstood. He beats to his own drum and has a wonderful, creative imagination that thinks outside the box, on a wavelength not explored by the average child. He is artistic, sensitive, fun and one of the best climbers I have ever seen in my life! Move over spiderman! He doesn’t fit in with the “norm”, and why should he? (more…)

Last night at my son’s high school, we had a “Mother/Son Night”. It was beautiful. It was all about reconnecting with our sons as they make the transition from primary school to high school. I looked around the room and saw how the speakers’ words provoked all sorts of emotions in the faces of the mums around me, who were feeling exactly the same as me. I had come to realise that this is a time of wanting to hold on so tight, but knowing that we have to start letting go, just a little bit, as our boys start to grow up into fine young men.

The kids had to bring something that would remind their mum about their childhood, but were not allowed to tell us what it was. So, my boy secretly went upstairs, hunted around until he found what it was he was looking for, and smuggled it into his backpack. Read more…

There are many different forms of bullying. Generally, bullying can be grouped into the following categories:

• Verbal – name calling, gossiping about someone, criticising or spreading rumours
• Emotional – threatening, intimidating someone, putting someone down
• Exclusion – ignoring or isolating someone
• Physical – hurting someone physically, and or destroying their property
• Cyberbullying – using technology to hurt someone emotionally via text messages, pictures, and other social media sites.

Whatever the type of bullying, it is wrong. Bullying involves hurtful behaviour which is repeated over again. It can happen anywhere, anytime, and the consequences can be devastating. Read more…