In focus: Bullying
The Washington Times reports (http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20031209-084147-2750r.htm) that a potentially landmark study on bullying finds that long-held beliefs about schoolyard bullies need to be re-examined. The study, which appeared in Pediatrics magazine (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/112/6/1231) finds that bullies do not usually suffer from low self-esteem, like their victims, but rather are perceived as "cool, popular" kids, although this perception apparently does not carry over into adult life. A 1998 Vanderbilt University study found that 60% of boys who are identified as bullies in grades six through nine are convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24. http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/09/04/sprj.sch.bullying.prevention.ap/

In grades 6 though 10, over 3.2 million children are bullying victims, (about 1 in 6) and there are about 3.7 million bullies (1 in 5). http://www.fightcrime.org/reports/BullyingExec.pdf

For information on how to help bullying victims, visit Vanderbilt Children's Hospital's "Bullying Home Care Instructions." http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/learning-center/pted/docs/hc0492.pdf

For more information on self-esteem issues, we recommend "Counseling and Self-Esteem" by David E. Carlson, available though http://www.barnesandnoble.com.

Action Item of the month

Once again, we remind everyone of our ongoing boycott against Amazon.com, and the sites that continue to sell from Amazon's inventory, including toysrus.com. Please visit our online petition at http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petitions.php?id=246 to tell Toys-R-Us of your displeasure at what is available through their website. Please spread the word to friends and family about Amazon.com's links to the homosexual pedophile groups that call themselves "the boylovers community". Be aware that Amazon has even penetrated traditionally "pro-family" sites like http://www.townhall.com. Mention it at church. Please continue to refer family and friends to our website, http://www.childprotectionprogram.org, for updates on this ongoing campaign. No more can any of us be parties to the sexual victimization of young boys that we believe Amazon.com is responsible for. Most importantly, call in to your favorite conservative or Christian talk shows and ask the hosts to visit the toysrus.com site and see the search results for themselves.

In other news…
A parent and pro-family group boycott against clothier Abercrombie & Fitch was successful in getting the retailer to abandon its quarterly catalogue featuring nude pictures of teens. (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/10/business/media/10adco.html?ex=1071637200) Can success with Toys-R-Us be far behind?

A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty to using intentional misspellings of popular children's websites like Disneyland to lure children to pornographic websites. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031210/wr_nm/crime_pornography_dc_1 This is the first prosecution under a new law making it a federal crime to intentionally lure children to pornographic websites. For tips on how to keep your children safe while online, visit the "Online Safety" section of our Child Protection Guide at http://www.childprotectionprogram.org/guide/3.php