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Today Lilly and I celebrated national Pink day – and no, not for the color! Pink day is a day dedicated to preventing, spreading awareness and ultimately stomping out bulling.

Here is what we talked about on the show!

History of Pink Day

Pink Day was established in 2007 after a pair of students, David Shepherd and Travis Price, saw one of their fellow students at Central Kings Rural High School being bullied for no other reason than that they were wearing a pink shirt. In a stroke of brilliance, these two got together and decided to show support for the student and take a stand against bullying by getting everyone at their school to wear a pink shirt the next day. Pink Day was created to stomp out all bullying and spread understanding, and it’s a concept spreading throughout the world.

According to Dr. Joel Haber, bullying expert and author of Bullyproof Your Child for Life, your child could be a victim of bullying if he/she:

Is reluctant or refuses to go to school
Clams up when you try to discuss school
Demands some sort of change in a long-standing routine, like riding the bus to school or going to the park on Saturdays
Does not want to participate in after-school activities or play with old friends
Seems hungrier than usual after school – it might be a sign that someone is stealing his lunch money or that he is unwilling to brave the cafeteria at lunchtime
Shows signs of physical distress such as headaches, stomach-aches, or nausea
Goes to the nurse in order to avoid going to class
Performance in school (grades, homework, attendance) suddenly declines
Acts sullen, angry, and frequently wants to be left alone
Uncharacteristically uses bad language
Shows marked behavior change after computer time or a phone call
Starts asking for more lunch or transportation money without a clear explanation of why it is needed
Has unexplained bruises or injuries

Is your child the bully?

While you could never imagine your own sweetie excluding or teasing a classmate, 1 out of 5 kids in grades 6-10 admits to being a bully or doing at least some “bullying” (Nansel, et al, 2001). Children know that bullying is wrong. That’s why they do it when parents aren’t around. That’s why cyberbullying has become so common (the Internet is like one huge parentless mansion). And because adults are left in the dark, they don’t often face repercussions for their actions. So they keep doing it.

Of course you don’t want to admit that your child could be a bully. But you definitely don’t want to let your child stay a bully. Look for the signs — and then find a way to check the behaviors.

Dr. Haber says that your child could be a bully if he/she:

Is exclusive – refuses to include certain kids in play or study
Persists in certain inappropriate or unpleasant behavior even after you have told him/her to stop
Is very concerned with being and staying popular
Seems intolerant of and/or shows contempt for children who are “different” or “weird”
Frequently teases or taunts other children
Constantly plays extremely aggressive video games
Hurts animals

Observes you excluding, gossiping about, or otherwise hurting others: As parents we have a tremendous influence on our children. As human beings, we all occasionally exhibit some bullying behaviors. It’s only natural and it doesn’t mean we’re bad people. But think honestly about your own behavior and then ask — do your kids also show these traits?

What do I do?

Intervene when you can
Be Proactive – Teach your kids the right way to handle bullying- “Teach them what healthy, respectful behavior looks like from another child their age. Teach them what non-healthy, disrespectful behavior looks like, too,” said Meeker.
Take charge – When dealing with a bully, Meeker says parents should move from talking with the teacher, to the principal, to the parent.

For the Bullying statistics we shared click HERE.

Thank you so much for supporting the Afternoon Drive! Hannah

Good afternoon! I hope you’re having a great day!
Today on the Drive we talked about the dangers of germs, where you find them, and some of the best ways to prevent them.

What are germs and how do they get us sick?
Some certain germs won’t get you sick, but they can. Germs which usually stay in certain parts of the body where they do not cause disease, will make a person sick if they find their way to another part of the body. For example, Escherichia coli (which is also sometimes known as E. coli) lives in the gut and helps digest food. However, if it gets outside the gut, E. coli can cause sickness such as bladder infection.

Germs can get into the body through the mouth, nose, breaks in the skin and eyes. Once disease-causing germs are inside the body they can stop it from working properly. They may breed very quickly and in a very short time a small number of germs can become millions.

Germs can cause disease by upsetting the way the body works. They do this when they:

produce toxins (poisons)
increase their number greatly by breeding and they can stop parts of the body from working properly, or
attack and damage a particular part of the body

Kids and germs are like the peas and carrots of family life — they go together perfectly. But something as simple as frequent, effective hand washing can help prevent many germs and diseases in adults and children alike.

Ensuring your children are eating healthy and getting enough sleep may also help their immune systems fight off potentially harmful conditions. Vitamin C from foods (bell pepper), fruits (any citrus) or supplements can help boost immune system function. Eating five varied servings of fruits and vegetables per day provides more than 200 mg of vitamin C. Examples…

3/4’s of a cup of Orange juice contains 93mg of Vitamin C
1 medium Kiwi contains 63mg of Vitamin C
and a 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries contain 49mg of Vitamin C

Other good sources of vitamin C are oranges, red peppers, kale, Brussels Sprouts, broccoli, grapefruit, guava, and green peppers.

How much Vitamin C should I be getting for my age?
0-6 months         40mg
7-12 months      50mg
1-3 years            15mg
4-8 years            25mg
9-13 years          45mg
13+ years 65-90mg per day.

Here are some tips for you to avoid contact with germs…

Not too close
Avoid having close contact with people who are sick and when you are sick, keep your distance from others.
Stay home when sick
If possible, stay home from work/school. Use the 24-hour rule: Stay home if you’ve had fever within the last 24 hours.
 Keep it covered
Use a tissue to cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue away and wash your hands. If a tissue is not available, cover your nose and mouth with your sleeve or arm, not your hands.
Hands off
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth when you are ill to help prevent spreading germs.
Wipe it down
Clean and disinfect surface areas at home, work and school.

Just for fun… The three dirtiest things in your house?
Your dish sponge… 775,460,560 bacteria per square inch
Your sink handle… 228,854 bacteria per square inch
Your keyboard mouse… 79,000 bacteria per square inch

Our Word of the day today was…

interdigitate // Verb // [in-ter-dij-i-teyt]
to interlock, as or like the fingers of both hands.

[Interdigitate is a derivative of the Latin noun digitus, most commonly meaning is “finger” and secondarily “toe” and finally, as a measure of length, “the breadth of a finger, inch.” The Latin noun derives from the Proto-Indo-European root (and its variants) which mean “to point, point out, show.” One of the Germanic derivatives, which in Old English develops into tahe and then tā, whence Modern English “toe,” except that human beings cannot interdigitate with their toes. Interdigitate entered English in the 19th century. ]

Thanks for listening!
-Lilly

Driving Notes

The Official Blog of WNZR's Afternoon Drive

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Who Knew Wednesday: Pink Day!

Who Knew… Germs!

Back To School Wednesday

Back to School Mystery Monday