Beyond “heroes” and “bullies”: breaking a cycle of violence and silence, and getting real help

Millions of people all over the world have now seen the 40-second video of Australian 16-year old Casey Heynes being taunted and punched repeatedly and then fighting back with one dramatic move where he picked up Ritchard Gale, the smaller 12-year old who was attacking him, and slammed him to the ground.  The incident was recorded on a cell phone camera by a group of boys egging Ritchard on, in a situation that seemed to be set up to humiliate Casey by creating online video of him being... Read more

Turning anxiety into action: Taking charge of safety before, during and after a disaster

“Safety at all levels” can apply to many kinds of situations. Our hearts go out to the earthquake and tsunami survivors in Japan who are dealing with great loss and hardship. The story in Japan continues to unfold by the minute as emergency crews struggle to control the nuclear reactors damaged by the tsunami. Irene van der Zande was at her home in Santa Cruz California when the Loma Prieta earthquake struck in 1989. Her experience living in an active earthquake zone combines... Read more

What Stops Organizations From Putting Child Safety First? — And Four Decisions That Can Make a Difference

Most organizations, whether they exist to serve for recreational, religious, educational, or health purposes, will say that the safety of the young people in their care is their highest priority. Unfortunately, news stories abound about a failure of trust of people in long-established institutions in all of these fields leading to children being abused, bullied, or harmed in other ways. What stops people within organizations from making child safety their highest priority? And, what changes... Read more

Now that’s what we call safety at all levels–White House anti-bullying conference

We are thrilled that the White House hosted an anti-bullying conference last week. The President and First Lady Michelle Obama shared their goals for the conference through a video posted on Facebook. As leaders and parents, the Obamas want American children to know that bullying can be stopped, and bullying behavior does not have to be accepted as a normal part of growing up. The Obamas understand that bullying can have destructive consequences and that it’s up to each of us to do our... Read more

Core concepts: What is bullying?

This series of blog posts introduces the core principles and definitions of the child safety issues we’ll be exploring in greater depth through Doing Right By Our Kids as Irene van der Zande and Dr. Amy Tiemann develop this online resource and book. Most people have a sense of what bullying is, but it helps to start with a concrete definition. Bullying is repeated physically or psychologically aggressive behavior enacted by a more powerful person or group that is directed toward a less... Read more