One of my favorite columnists Jeffrey Zaslow recently wrote an article titled: “Before You Gossip, Ask Yourself This…” He talks about pop culture encouraging children to diss each other and  the need for guidance to discourage evil language. The article hit home probably because I had just encountered this problem with my youngest daughter.  Granted, I was expecting to deal with catty behavior in middle school…but my daughter is in the second grade.  To make matters worse, she was the instigator!

She was being mean to another girl in her class and the teacher brought it to my attention. My daughter and I sat down “to talk” about her behavior and how she would feel if the situation were reversed.  As our girls grow older, they will probably encounter more instances of verbal bullying than physical bullying.  Today’s culture of reality t.v., anonymous websites and Facebook can desensitized our children to how hurtful cruel words can be.  If that were not enough, there is a permanence today that didn’t exist before.  Once something is out there on the web, it’s hard to get it back.  The article suggests that we ask ourselves 3 questions before we talk about someone:

• Is it kind?
• Is it true?
• Is it necessary?

Definitely something to think about.  Hmmmm.

contributed by Chief Princess Mom