“The Bimbo Game" - Hot new internet kid craze where dolls get breast implants and go on crash diets

This is an urgent memo to parents to please monitor your computer even closer. A provocative new Web site encourages young girls to give their virtual character dolls breast implants and use diet pills for crash diets.

It’s aptly called the “Miss Bimbo” Game and it’s popular among girls aged seven to seventeen years of age. The goal is to turn their naked virtual character doll into the “hottest, coolest, most famous bimbo in the whole world.” (I kid you not).

Players sign up (for free) and then earn “bimbo” dollars to spend making their doll the coolest bimbo. Girls are told to “stop at nothing” to achieve that goal. And oh the things they can buy:

Whining - that pitiful, loud, grating sound - is one of the most irritating of kid behaviors. The pitch is an exasperating blend of crying and nagging that’s annoying as nails on a chalkboard. If that’s not enough, whiners have this amazing ability of stretching syllables so they almost slap you back in your face: “Pleeeeeeease” or “Daaaaad!”

Rest assured, all kids whine occasionally, but the surest way to turn this grating attention-getter into a full-fledged habit is to give in, and let your little nagger “win.” Take heed: once you back down and surrender, kids usually continue using the technique as a way to get what they want. Worse yet, if not stopped, whining often escalates to back talk, arguing, and tantrums. So the bottom line is: don’t let your kid think it works.

Watch the segment from TODAY Here are the four steps to stop your little whiner...

Each week Michele Borba answers your parenting questions right here on her blog.  If you have a parenting problem or question leave a comment on this post and you may have yours answered next week!

Hi - I have a 4-year-old who is very shy in new situations. He is great at home or in places he knows, but around new kids, people, and situations he shuts down for quite a while. We try to encourage him and tell him we know it can be a little intimidating, and that may or may not help. What can I do to help him? Thank you!
--Lindsey

Thank you for your question. Here are a few tips from my book Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me, to help your shy kid gain confidence in social settings. I have one of these critters myself so I know where you’re coming from. Hope these help.

1. Give warm up time. Shyer kids need more time to warm up. They usually hang back at first and “watch” so let him. He’s soaking up the information and gaining confidence. Don’t push. Big mistake. Instead show him the “first thing he can do.” (Like go to the puzzle, find the swing, walk to one friend). And don’t (please don’t) label your child shy. Studies at Stanford University found that though shyness is usually the temperament our kids are born with, LABELING them shy can become self-fulfilling. (One of my kids was shy and whenever someone used the term in front of him I switched it. “No, he’s very cognitive.” Everyone begin to think he was in the genius category – but it saved his self-esteem


2. Encourage eye contact. A simple but important skill to teach a shy child is eye contact. First, because it will make your child appear more confident (shyer kids generally hang their heads down and look timid—because they are) and second, because it’s a skill that well-liked kids use. It will help your child gain social confidence. As you’re talking with your child teach one rule, “Always look at the color of the talker’s eyes.” By consciously reinforcing the skill and modeling it regularly, your child will soon be using eye contact.  Tip: If your kid is uncomfortable about using eye contact, tell him to look at the bridge of the speaker’s nose. With a few practices, she usually no longer needs the technique, and will look more confidently into the speaker’s eyes.


3. Rehearse social situations. Prepare your kid for an upcoming social event by describing the setting, expectations, and the attendees. Shy kids are more anxious. Their little hearts are beating and the fear factor is high. Then help him practice the FIRST thing he can do when he goes into the birthday party (give the present to the mom; say hi to the birthday boy) etc. Later you can add how to meet others, table manners, basic conversational skills, and even how to say good-bye gracefully. Just remember kids learn new skills best by SHOWING not TELLING. So role play over and over and over the skill.


4. Practice skills with younger peers. Try pairing your child with a younger child for brief play periods (a younger cousin, neighbor, or one of your friend’s younger kids). It will help your child feel more comfortable and practice new skills that can be intimidating with more “mature” kids.


5. Arrange one-on-one play opportunities to build social confidence. This is a time when your kid invites only one child over for a couple of private play hours to get to know one another and practice friendship-making skills. Siblings should not be included and television viewing should not be a play option.

All the best!
Michele Borba

Have a parenting question for Michele Borba?  Leave a comment below and your question may be answered next week.

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Dr. Michele Borba is the author of Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me: The Top 25 Friendship Problems and How to Solve Them.

Parenting expert Michele Borba wants to hear from you and answer your parenting questions!

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The Children's Society, a charitable group in the UK dedicated to improving childhood, released scathing survey results this week that are none too flattering: A whopping 89% of adults feel that today's youth are far more materialistic and consumer-driven at much younger ages than previous generations. That survey also finds that kids most influenced by commercial pressures suffer more mental-health problems.

Of course raising kids in such a materialistic world with advertisers taunting children to buy-buy-buy doesn't make matters easier. But let's face it, the biggest reason our kids are so darn materialistic is because we've allowed it. (Most of us anyway). We've obliged their every whim, bought them only the best name brands, and tried motivating them to “do good” by rewarding them with possessions. What's more, we aren't doing our kids any justice.

The good news is that the latest research from several universities shows there are ways to deprogram your child's materialistic streak. Using those parenting strategies will help your kid be more appreciative of those non-material everyday wonders of life, boost his self-esteem, emotional well-being and actually make him happier and more content. Best yet, you'll save yourself money and kiss away any guilt you've ever had for saying "no" to your kids. Get ready!

Watch the segment from TODAY

Are you finding it hard to curb your kid's desire for more, more, more?  First, find out if you have a materialistic child.  If you think your child is too concerned with material possessions it may be hard to  break him of the habit. 

Here are a few of the best parenting secrets to help you succeed.

Just say no! Always giving in to your kid's materialistic desires doesn't do her any favors. Say no to unending whims and consumer demands, even if that provokes tantrums at first. And do so without feeling guilty. Then simply explain your concerns and the reason for your new policy, but, most importantly, do not give in!
Watch those TV commercials! Research shows that the fewer commercials kids see, the less materialistic they become. When kids' TV viewing was cut by one-third; they were 70 percent less likely than their peers to ask parents for a toy the previous week. So hit the mute button on your television remote and talk whenever those commercials are on. Turn your child toward more commercial-free television shows or Tivo his “have-to-see” favorite so he can cut out the commercials all together.

Spend more time than money on your kids. Materialistic kids go on more shopping outings with their parents. So be honest: How many of your outings stress non-material values? Make a conscious effort to spend time together doing things that don't cost a dime: Go to the park and the museum, talk, take bike rides, build forts, bake cookies, watch the clouds, and play Monopoly. Show your kid the “other” side of life.

Boost self-esteem. Research at the University of Minnesota shows the more materialistic the kid, the lower their self-esteem. All those clothes and electronics they own actually suppress their self-regard by sending the superficial message: “Your identity is what you have -- not who you are.” But you can turn that belief around by giving well-earned compliments that focus on your kid's inner qualities such as “smart” or “fun.” That research showed that doing so immediately reduced tween-aged kids' materialistic tendencies.

Watch the segment from TODAY

This week yet another sobering headline: “Study Reveals Deadliest Driving Risks of Youth.” And once again I shutter, and then I cry. I've had five close friends over the last ten years lose their beautiful teen sons in driving fatalities. All were the most loving of parents, all the boys were wonderful, glorious, and good, and each parent would have read this prior to the worst day of their life, and said, “Not my kid.”

But the stark reality is such a tragedy could happen to your child. Nearly 10,000 youths have died as passengers in car crashes. Of those crashes, 54% were riding with a teen driver. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for tweens and teens. So please read this carefully and take this very seriously. Knowing the risks just may save your child or their friend.

Okay, I admit it. I was dabbing away the tears in my hanky last night while watching Oprah's Big Give. If you missed it, the latest Oprah venture is to put out the call for America's most selfless person. While it's still under the guise of a reality show (sort of), the great twist is that the talk show host is rewarding the most kind-hearted person (without he or she knowing that whoever is the last remaining Good Samaritan will receive one million dollars).

It's not the prize that excites me, but the attention Oprah's new way to “pay it forward” is going to put on the power of doing charitable acts-the hearts and souls of each of her “givers” will be forever changed. Really!

Studies firmly support the theory behind Oprah's Big Give. By practicing small acts of kindness, people are often guided to perform more widespread acts of compassion even though that may not have been their original intention.