How are you doing with the school season starting up again? 

You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about kids’ behaviors because they’re definitely different than when you and I were growing up. I mean…they don’t do much outside!

That’s so weird to me. I actually kicked my two teens out of the house for an hour hoping they would take a walk or come up with some type of activity to spend the hour. 

Do you know what they did? 

THEY SAT AT THE FRONT DOOR. THE. ENTIRE. HOUR!

Can you believe that?!

And, YES! I took their devices. 

You see, studies show that being outside for at least 15 minutes around nature helps increase high energy and reduces depression, anxiety, and many other negative mental health effects.

Kids are spending too much time indoors, particularly in their bedrooms. Without having exposure to natural vitamin D (sunlight) and mixing that with always being in front of a screen, kids are more prone to developing...

How much do you know about cyberbullying?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “cyberbullying” was first used in 1998 and is defined as “the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person. In other words, cyberbullying is the act of bullying anywhere online. Our use of the web leaves digital footprints that can be tracked by people who know how to follow a footprint. 

That’s why you might have heard of some celebrities getting canceled for having posted terrible things during the early age of the internet.

With time and the advancement of technology, cyberbullying has increased, but the protection laws for cyberbullying (as well as other forms of bullying) have not caught up with it. 

Cyberbullying is bullying online. The acts are repeated and aimed at shaming, slurring, angering, humiliating, or causing any negative distress to another person. Like bullying, cyberbullying has not been federally defined in...

Have you ever had a huge aha moment as an adult about something that you went through as a kid? You might have thought it was nothing, but as you reflected on it, you realized it was the cause of something a lot bigger?

This happened to me a few years ago. My family has always made fun of me for having been that teen that slept ALL THE TIME! 

THE BACK STORY

My father had finally left us right after I had turned 14. It was a wonderful feeling to no longer wake up to him physically abusing my mother or walking into the house from school to see she’d been beaten again. 

Everyone recalls one particular summer when I was 15-years-old when we lived in government housing after my father left.

My mom had to make ends meet and she had gotten so lucky to have received a government home for us because the waiting list was very long. 

Since she had six kids, they made her case a special priority. I will never forget that change in our lives. She would stay in her...

Former Foster Youth Shares Personal Journey From Pain to Power

Imagine being so scared to go to a school that you hide in the library so that you can be invisible.

Imagine being called names such as “blackie” and “ugly”, while walking to class by a group of your peers. Imagine what your life would be like if you are jumped, hit, chased and chronically teased at school, and no one comes to your rescue

Sadly, thousands of children in the Inland Empire, especially foster youth, are afraid to go to school because they are violently and verbally attacked.

I was one of those children. A quiet, shy kid who felt unloved and unworthy due to the trauma I faced, I was often the target of unwanted harassment. I wore the same clothes or hand-me-downs that were either too big or too small for me.

My hair was unkempt because no one invested money to care for my hair. My clothing, dark skin, and coarse hair made me a target for daily bullying for a decade that...

Surviving a lifetime of being bullied!

As a child, I was bullied, and it was a long process for me to recover. I was teased, made fun of and told that I would never be anything. This was by my family from birth throughout my early adult years. I also endured years of being jumped on and beat-up by my cousin for no reason.

This resulted in me being shy and my self-esteem was very low. I was also teased in school because I was skinny, and my teeth were crooked. As a result, I walked with my head down and I never smiled. There were so many days that I would come home and just cry.

I was doing poorly in school because I was suffering from depression. I vividly remember one day I was in health class and a classmate told me that I was skinny enough to hula hoop in a fruit-loop. I was called grandma and told me that I was homely! which hurt a lot. That was just a tiny bit of the things that were said to me.

Unfortunately, I was struggling with being bullied. I stayed faithful and knew that...