Sesame Street Supports "No To Bullying"

Big Birds problems getting into The Good Birds Club are at the center of an anti-bullying effort being launched by Sesame Street. The venerable PBS show will air a special episode Monday that aims to teach preschoolers how to recognize and combat bullying. The show said that studies say bullying behavior is seen in children as young as 3, so it's important to get the message across.

In the episode, Big Bird is invited to join the club, but a bully won't let him in and makes fun of him. Desperate to join, Big Bird asks the fairy Abby to make him smaller and change his yellow feathers to blue, but he still doesn't pass muster.

Dangers that your Kids confront on the Internet

Parents must serve as the first line of defense to protect kids, but they are often uninformed or ill-equipped to deal with these and other evolving threats. It is therefore wise for you to brush up on these threats and learn what dangers for children lurk on the internet and how to protect your young ones from there. Here are some of the hidden dangers in the internet that confront Internet users and your kids today:

VIRUS. Kids can get embedded in their computer, be it a conduit for a Trojan Horse, a staging area for a worm, or they may end up downloading unnecessary cookies and files.

IMPROPER CONTENT. There are numerous sites where a child can learn harmful thing like how to make bombs, site that encourage drug use, forums that discuss the best ways to commit suicide, and areas that foster hate crimes.

PREDATORS. Kids may be subject to various online predators. A child may be exposed to phishing attacks where unscrupulous persons can try to steal their or their parents personal information and identity. Sexual predators, adults pretending to be teenagers, abound in cyberworld. They entice children to reveal personal information and eventually lure them to private encounters that can result in traumatic experiences for kids and teens. Kids who end up in chatrooms may be lured to sex chats leading to a sex "eyeball", prostitution, or even 'sex for benefits' arrangements.

CYBER-BULLYING. The relative anonymity the Internet offers sometimes makes kids feel uninhibited and makes them prone to harmful and nasty acts. Kids may be sent unsolicited hate mail, or fall prey to posers who pretend to them on the Internet. Cases where other people open accounts in social networking sites under other people's names and then post false, misleading, rude, or derogatory information are becoming common.

PORNOGRAPHY. The online adult business is a thriving worldwide multibillion dollar industry. It has become easy for kids to get exposed to pornographic materials.

IDENTITY THEFT. Since it become common occurrence for teens to post their private information on the Internet, be it their school, their favorite hangout, and birthday, it has become easy for others to steal someone's identity on the Net as well.

What to do When your Child is being Bullied

Yup, bullying can be found anywhere, especially on schools, no matter how big or small, public or private schools. There is always a person who loves to bully others. Here are some simple tips if you suspect that your child is getting bullied.

1. BE OBSERVANT. It's important that parents are present in their children's lives. Be observant of your child, he'll start behaving differently. Even if you ask them flat out, "is there anybody bullying?" They'll likely deny, especially if the bully is someone they look up to or admire. Of course, they won't say that the person is mean to them because they want to be friends with that person.

2. MEET THE TEACHER. If you notice that your child is acting differently. Ask for a meeting with his teachers. They'll be more than willing to help you.

3. BE THERE FOR YOUR CHILD, ALWAYS.