You are here: Home / 2011 / Archives for September 2011

Being Friends With Boys: How Do You Handle It?

September 28, 2011 By

Do you feel pressured to have a boyfriend, or do you think you can’t just be friends with a boy? Many girls find that having boyfriends and boys that are just friends can be tricky.

There is a difference between having a boyfriend and having a friend that is a boy, and there is nothing wrong with either type of friendship. However, a lot of girls feel pressured to make their guy friends into boyfriends. There is never a time when you absolutely need a boyfriend, so enjoy your friendships with the boys!

Here are some tips on being friends with boys without feeling like you have to make them your boyfriend!

  1. Just be yourself. Act like you would with any of your friends, because your friends love you for who you are – it doesn’t matter if they are a boy or a girl.
  2. Hang out in groups. Hanging out in groups takes the pressure off of having to think of things to talk about or activities to do. Plus, you’ll be more comfortable and confident!
  3. Don’t treat them differently than your girlfriends. Just because your friend is a boy doesn’t mean he needs to be treated specially. Friends are friends!

New Moon girls have a lot of questions when it comes to having boyfriends and boys that are friends. Mina from Oregon says all of her friends have boyfriends and she is unsure if she wants one – she would love some advice!

Wondering from British Columbia asked when girls should begin dating on Ask A Girl. Do you have any helpful advice for her?

Jane from New York has a good friend that happens to be a boy, and people always think they are dating. What should she tell to people who think they are dating just because they are a boy and a girl that are friends? Plus, see what other girls have told her!

Gabrielle from Connecticut has an awesome poll asking girls what kind of relationships they have with boys.  According to her poll, most New Moon Girls don’t have a boyfriend and prefer to just be friends with boys!

It is totally acceptable to have friends that are boys, but you don’t need to feel like you have to have a boyfriend. Enjoy all of your friendships equally!

Do you feel pressured to have a boyfriend, or are you comfortable having boys that are just friends? How do you handle the pressure, or does it matter to you? Let us know in your comments below!

Emily
New Moon Intern

Filed Under: Body & Feelings

The Day of the Girl is FINALLY Here! Let’s Celebrate with Girl-Caught!

September 22, 2011 By
Girls,

Girl "catching" a disrespectful adDo you ever feel like products, certain toys, songs, clothing, or advertisements are disrespectful to girls and women? Or, have you seen others that are respectful?

Today, Sept. 22, is The Day of the Girl, and to celebrate this wonderful day, New Moon girls, guys, moms, dads, sisters, brothers, friends and more are taking a stand to make the world a better place for everyone.

How? New Moon Girls is empowering girls to say, “Stop It!” with the Girl-Caught campaign starting today: Day of the Girl. The Day of the Girl is a day that is just for girls to celebrate what makes them great, and lots of people are working hard to make this day official for all girls around the world.

The Girl-Caught campaign gives girls, boys and adults an empowering way to show and comment on both negative and positive images and messages about girls and women.

New Moon Girls is partnering with Day of the Girl, Mind on the Media, Pigtail Pals, Powered By Girl, School Girls Unite, Shaping Youth, LitWorld, Women, Action, & The Media, The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, Princess Free Zone, Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker’s Operation Transformation, Heart of Gold, Hardy Girls Healthy Women, Signe Whitson and more to give girls and others a voice, and spread the word far and wide that we do not have to accept these disrespectful messages anymore, and to increase respect for girls and women in all media.

Make the world better in four easy steps:

  1. Go to the Girl-Caught site.
  2. Download or print out your own Girl-Caught stickers.
  3. Paste them to the negative or positive Girl-Catches you find.
  4. Upload them to Girl-Caught!
Disrespectful Girl-Caught of baby in heelsThere’s more! We want to make sure your voices are heard. New Moon Girls is also planning an event in Washington, DC and Congressional offices nationwide to deliver thousands of Girl-Catches to Congress in support of the Healthy Media for Youth Act.

 

Through Girl-Caught, girls, boys, women, and men can have an impact on the messages girls and women receive from companies and the media today, and shape how they see themselves tomorrow.

 

Let us know what you think, and how you’re going to celebrate today in the comments below!

 

Love,
Luna
Filed Under: Changing the World

Stand up for Girls on the International Day of the Girl!

September 20, 2011 By

What can you do to stand up for girls and their right to equality in all areas of life? Tomorrow, September 22, is the International Day of the Girl, a day devoted to giving girls worldwide the opportunity to reach their full potential in all areas of life. Many organizations around the world are coming together to promote this goal with different projects and campaigns.

New Moon Girls will officially launch their Girl-Caught campaign, where you can give companies feedback on how they portray girls and women. If you see an ad or product that is disrespectful, point it out and tell them to stop it! If you see something that is respectful toward girls and women, you can tell them to keep up the good work!

New Moon Girls is also partnering with an organization called LitWorld,which will also be launching their Stand up for Girls rally on Thursday. LitWorld uses the power of story to promote reading and writing skills in the world’s most vulnerable children. They do this through advocacy, education and innovation.

Did you know there are 774 million people in the world who remain unable to read and write? Most of these are girls and women. Many of these girls and women really want to go to school to learn, but are unable to do so. Some have to work to provide for their families, and others have to help take care of their siblings so their parents can work. Whatever the reason, these girls and women are not getting the education they deserve. It is LitWorld’s mission to change this.

New Moon girls can join others and the Stand up for Girls  rally and stand up for girls and their right to go to school and to learn to read and write, because every girl deserves the right to education, equality and a bright future.

When girls stand up for themselves and others it is a very powerful thing. Girls like you play a very important role in encouraging the world to change how they view girls and women!

Emily

New Moon Intern

Filed Under: Changing the World

Sister to Sister: Dealing With Social Anxiety

September 20, 2011 By
Picture of a girlIt can be stressful when you feel nervous and self-conscious in different situations. However when it becomes so stressful that it prevents you from speaking up or doing typical things, such as talking to classmates or raising your hand in class, it can be considered a kind of social anxiety. It also can interfere with how you live your life.This kind of stress may cause you to avoid classes if you know there is going to be an opportunity where you’ll have to talk in front of the class. Your body may send out signals like nausea, sweating or shaking.

This isn’t to say that if you get butterflies before talking in front of the class that you have anxiety. You may just be a more introverted, or a shy person!

Here are some tips to help if you deal with anxiety (or if you’re simply shy these can help you as well!):

  • Girl at computerPractice at home if you know you’re going to be talking in front of a group/your class. If your teacher calls on you, remember to take a deep breath and think positively!
  • When you talk to somebody it can help to look at their eyebrows! It looks like you are looking into their eyes and it might help you concentrate more.
  • It helps to talk about your anxiety with a close friend or adult you trust.
  • Try to start small, smile at someone, they might initiate a conversation! Just remember you can do it and if there is a pause in the conversation, it’s not necessarily a bad thing! If you’re feeling brave, try to talk to somebody you don’t talk to normally/ Who knows, you might make a new friend!
  • If your school has a sport or club you’d like to join, try out for the team. The worst that can happen is you don’t make it, and maybe you’ll make friends from the try out process.
  • Put yourself out there. Most times people aren’t looking at you as often as it might feel like. (I’m not saying you are being self-centered or selfish!) I know I sometimes feel like people are laughing at me but I know deep down it definitely most likely their conversation doesn’t have anything to do with me.

If you have more tips or questions, or just want to talk about it, please post them on the Sister to Sister message board topic, Sister to Sister: Social Anxiety/Shyness.

Love,
Hallie

Filed Under: Sister to Sister

The Clique: How do you handle feeling left out?

September 14, 2011 By

The Clique. Now that the school year has begun, girls (and guys) are starting to find their groups of friends: the friends they have the most in common with, the ones they want to sit with at lunch and hang out with after school.

But sometimes people who used to be your friends aren’t anymore. Or, sometimes these groups decide to leave people out. So what are cliques?

“Cliques are groups of friends, but not all groups of friends are cliques. The thing that makes a group a clique (say: klik) is that they leave some kids out on purpose. Usually one or two popular kids control who gets to be in the clique and who gets left out. Kids may act much differently than they did before they were part of the clique,” According to kidshealth.org.

It is important to know that cliques aren’t exactly how they look in movies or on TV. For the most part, schools work very hard to prevent bullying between students. But, if you feel that cliques in your school are a problem, or you are feeling left out of a clique, read these tips below on handling them:

  1. Try to be open-minded when it comes to friends. Try talking to someone you never thought you would get along with. They might end up being your best friend!
  2. Remember that your friends might change over the years. The people you were best friends with last year might have different interests from you now. It is okay to make new friends that share your same interests.
  3. Try joining a team and experience new things. It could be sports, 4-H or a dance class. That way, you learn teamwork and make friends with others who love the things you do!
  4. If you are really having a problem with cliques, talk to a teacher or other adult you trust. Remember, they were once in school too, and I bet they had to handle some problems with cliques as well.

Another great tip is to ask New Moon Girls just like you how they handle clique problems in their school. Girls have a lot of great advice when it comes to issues with friends.

Charlotta Emily from Ontario began public school this fall and was worried about cliques. She received lots of great advice here! Leila from Massachusetts has found that kids in her school are very exclusive. See the advice she received from girls.

You can also join the discussions on New Moon message boards about cliques, popularity and friends. Or, start your own discussion or give others advice!

The most important thing to remember is that you never need to change yourself to fit into a group of friends. Find a group of friends that enjoy the same interests as you and who love you for who you are. You deserve it!

How do you handle cliques? Do you have any helpful advice to girls who  are feeling left out? Tell us in your comments below!

Emily
New Moon Intern

Filed Under: New Moon Girls News
«Older Posts