Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Huggable Melodies Picked-On Poindexter

As parents, we pretty much worry about our kids all the time, even when it may not be needed. This worry is even worse when our kids are actually worried or are facing an imminent challenge. With bullying being such a prevalent problem nowadays, that is a real source of concern for me. 

With my son being autistic, I worry about him being bullied even more. Not only does he have a lot of quirks that make him stand out(and could potentially make him a target for bullies), he also has long hair. People often mistake him for a girl(I don't see how since he is always dressed in obviously boy's clothes), so I am worried people will tease him about that.

The reason this worries me so much is that has a hard time expressing himself organically. He can conversation minimally when prompted, but I am not always sure he isn't just saying what I want to hear.

If he was to be bullied, I don't think he would even do anything about it, not even tell me. I always try to talk to him about bullying, but I am never sure quite what to say. When I found out there was a story(app) from Huggable Melodies that addresses bullying in a way that is entertaining for kids, I knew it was something I had to try.

Picked-On Poindexter is the story of a young frog, Poindexter, who is starting school, and his encounter with bullying.

The story is so cute. I love how it teaches children to feel good about themselves.
Poindexter makes a couple new friends at school, but he gets picked on, and neither he or his new friends stand up to the bully. He is sad, but then he sees his bully getting bullied, and he gets an adult for help. She commends him for doing the right thing, and Poindexter becomes friends with his former bully.

I really love the lessons about helping people who need it even if they are not nice to you(like Poindexter did with his bully) and that being a bully will not prevent you form getting picked on. I think that may be a reason so many kids become bullies, to try to make themselves seem superior in an effort to avoid being bullied themselves. This story shows that is not what you should do.

I love how it teaches kids to deal with bullying, but also to avoid becoming a bully. Most parents are always worried about their children being teased or feeling excluded, but many never think to worry that their child is the one doing the bullying.

My son is kind of a loner, so I really don't think he would ever intentionally bully anyone. He is not concerned in the least with appearance, clothing etc. I still do want him to understand that hurting people's feelings is bad, and that he needs to be nice to people. He is very likely to hurt someone's feelings by ignoring them. This would not be any sort of singling out, he just lives i his own world, but I am trying to help him be more friendly and outgoing.

What I really love about the Picked-On Poindexter app is that you can select to read it yourself or have it read to you. My son can read very well, so I like that I can have him do it on his own, but he likes being read to as well, and I love that the app can do it so he can hear a story read to him even if I am busy. Plus it can read to my daughter, who is 2 and cannot read yet.

Also, you can get an adorable Huggable Melodies stuffed frog to accompany your story. Having a real tangible "friend" associated with the story makes it more "real" and makes my son love it all the more.

He has read this over 15 times since we got it. He really loves it, and I love that if is helping him learn a little more about how to handle bullying. My daughter likes to watch him read, so it is helping her learn too, even if she doesn't know it yet.

If you, like me, worry about your child being bullied(or becoming a bully), I cannot think of a better way to educate them about it than Picked-On Poindexter from Huggable Melodies. The app is available for iPad and Kindle. And be sure to follow Huggable Melodies on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news.

*Although I received this at no cost to facilitate my review, all opinions are 100% my own.*

1 comment :

  1. It looks very tasty, I have to do it today for dinner.

    ReplyDelete