Bullying Pre

12 RuralLeaderMag.com | April 2019 If you’re a parent, you bring your kids to their annual checkups, get their teeth cleaned twice a year and help them eat well and get enough sleep. You do this to keep them physically healthy, but what about their mental health?

For parents, it can sometimes seem difficult to monitor and gauge a child’s emotional well-being, which is affected by a number of things that parents and children may not discuss. Having conversations around these issues is the best way to keep them in check. One issue that is of particular concern is bullying. Bullying is a big problem today - fueled even more in the age of the internet. Often, troubles with classmates are hidden from parents’ view, whether they take place in the classroom, on the bus or online.

Nearly half (47 percent) of parents confess that one of their greatest fears is that their child will be bullied, according to a survey by Planet Fitness. And while nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of parents admit their child has been the victim of bullying, only 8 percent have children that talk to them regularly about it.

This is why it’s important for parents to stay in tune to their children’s behaviors and talk to them openly. If you notice your child acting differently, it may be because something is happening to them at school or a different setting. You can use your observations as an opportunity to start an important conversation about what’s going on.

“Be careful with how you perceive your child’s behavior, as the way they are feeling on the inside might not be the emotion they show on the outside,” says Marc Brackett, PhD, director of Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence and lead developer of RULER, a school-based approach to teaching social emotional learning in classrooms that has been adopted by hundreds of schools and districts across the country, as well as adapted for after-school settings such as Boys & Girls Clubs. “If your child is acting out of the ordinary, for example, it’s best to speak with them about their day to help you identify the root cause of their actions.”

Tips for meaningful conversation with your child: Fostering regular, meaningful conversation with your child helps build trust so that you can hear all about their experiences, both the good and the bad, and can weigh in with your loving support.

Share common experiences: To show empathy and help your child to understand they aren’t alone, Brackett suggests that if you have ever experienced something similar to what your child is going through, such as if you were ever bullied, share that experience with your child. When you relate your experiences to your child’s situation, it will encourage them to share what happened and how he or she feels about it.

Brainstorm solutions: Ask your child what they want to do and how you can help, suggests Brackett. Come up with more than one option to deal with the situation. It’s important not to dictate, but suggest solutions and encourage them to come up with their own ways of dealing with the situation. Your child needs to feel like a part of the action plan for it to work.

Utilizing proper tools will help you, your child and even your child’s school develop these action plans. PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center in partnership with Planet Fitness’ Judgement Free Generation, a philanthropic initiative that aims to prevent bullying and spark a pro-kindness movement, has created Bullying Prevention 101, a freeto-download resource designed to help elementary, middle and high schools build environments defined by kindness, acceptance and inclusion (by way of teachers, counselors and other educators). Experts from PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center also suggest parents:

Listen to kids without judgement: Let kids do the talking and follow their lead. Discuss their experiences with an open mind and open heart. Then discuss their ideas on how they want to handle the situation and let them know that you’re there for them and will help no matter what.

Be aware of being bullied and being the bully: Sometimes if a child is being bullied, they are more likely to replicate that behavior elsewhere. First, recognize that children bully for many reasons. Next, help them understand how that behavior affects others and encourage positive solutions.

Encourage kindness: Help your child understand the importance of showing support and being kind to everyone, especially others who might be victims of bullying. Even if the crowd goes one way, it’s always important to stand up for what’s right.

For more ideas about fostering positive and productive conversations with young people about bullying, as well as to access Bullying Prevention 101 resources, visit https://www.pacer.org/planetfitness.— Bullying Prevention: Five Tips to Encourage Parent-Child Conversation

Celebrate Life’s Major Milestones In Myrtle Beach

From birthdays and weddings to anniversaries and retirements, life is all about celebrating those special moments with the ones we love. What better way to make the occasion unforgettable than to travel to an amazing destination?

For any important milestone, find the perfect way to celebrate by traveling somewhere special. Whether you’re looking for unique entertainment and fun for a group of friends on your birthday or a bachelor/ bachelorette party, a quick getaway with your spouse to mark an anniversary, a romantic honeymoon destination or a family trip with the kids, everything you want can be found in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Happy birthday to you! Whether you’re bringing the entire family or rounding up your besties for a weekend to celebrate a birthday, look for activities you know everyone will enjoy.

For the kids, take a ride on the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel, check out the sharks and stingrays at Ripley’s Aquarium or, for adventure and a little learning, wander through the interactive experience known as WonderWorks. After a morning relaxing on the beach with the kids, you can all head out to one of the area’s dozens of mini-golf courses for a friendly game or make a trip to The Track Family Fun Park for a go-kart race.

With your friends, charter a boat for a cruise or fishing excursion during the day, then enjoy dinner at one of the dozens of great seafood restaurants, followed by a show at the GTS Theater or The Carolina Opry. For the more adventurous, visit Go Ape GetRuralLeaderMag.com | April 2019 13 Zip Line and Treetop Adventure for an unforgettable experience among the trees.

Romance your sweetheart: To surprise your special someone, celebrate your honeymoon or anniversary, or even pop the question, spring for a getaway in Myrtle Beach to spend quality time together. Enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings by strolling through the gorgeous, 9,000-acre Brookgreen Gardens, which include an incredible sculpture garden and zoo. Then take a sunset cruise or book a couple’s massage at a local spa. Make a reservation for an intimate dinner at one of the area’s fine restaurants, like Aspen Grille or Thoroughbred’s Chophouse and Seafood Grille.

Celebrate with your wedding party: Plan the best bachelor or bachelorette party ever with the members of your wedding party. You and your girlfriends will find plenty of exciting shopping at The Market Common and Barefoot Landing. For adventurous bridesmaids, rent jet skis at Action Water Sportz for an awesome day on the water. At night, toast the bride-to-be with craft cocktails at The Chemist, then dance the night away to live music at the historic Bowery. Entertain the groom-to-be by hitting the links. Myrtle Beach is one of the country’s premier golf destinations, with 90 unique, challenging golf courses. Then get your adrenaline going by parasailing with Express Watersports, or take the wheel at the NASCAR Racing Experience at Myrtle Beach Speedway. Cap off the night by sampling local beers at New South Brewery and listening to live music at

Tin Roof.

Babymoon: Sure, you’ve heard of honeymoons, but why not take a last chance at a peaceful few days with your partner before your new little one arrives? Look for restful, relaxing environments to enjoy your peace and quiet ... while you still can. Stretch out and catch some sun along the area’s 60 miles of beaches, enjoy the natural beauty of the Murrells Inlet MarshWalk or stroll along the historic Conway Riverwalk. Then you can catch the stunning view from the SkyWheel. This spring, Visit Myrtle Beach is giving away a Babymoon vacation package, which will include three nights of accommodations for two adults, airline tickets and more - complete with the lighting up of the SkyWheel in blue or pink to reveal the gender of your new baby.

No matter what the occasion, the Myrtle Beach area is the vacation destination to create lasting memories. Couples, families and groups can find everything they’re looking for in a getaway that’s sure to please everyone. Check out visitmyrtlebeach.com/ milestones for more vacation ideas for your special milestone.—

Regardless of your career path, getting a promotion is often a professional goal. Being recognized and landing a promotion can provide a variety of perks such as more money, increased influence and more control over your daily routine.

So how do you land that promotion? It comes down to building key skills such as self-development, listening and communication. Fortunately, online learning platforms like LinkedIn Learning can help you develop these skills to get to the next level in your career.Here are a few secrets to taking the reins and getting noticed - and promoted - in your career.1. Prove that you’re capable of self-developmentThe difference between being a “high-potential employee” versus a “high-performing employee” means everything to your advancement, and to the company where you work. While a high-performing employee does their job well, their performance review will look similar from year to year, revealing little about their potential for moving up. A high-potential employee, on the other hand, shows a willingness to push themselves to learn new skills, take on more responsibilities and be open to lateral moves - especially if that means mastering new abilities.

How do you become a high-potential employee? Demonstrate your capacity for self-development by actively soliciting feedback from others to learn how you can grow and improve, and proactively take on opportunities to increase your skill set.2. Be a strong listenerIn today’s world, there’s a misconception that dominating the conversation means you’re a leader, but the opposite is actually true. Being a good lisHow to Get Promoted: Three Secret Skills for Success

tener is vital to being a strong leader, and a crucial component to earning that promotion.By taking the time to understand others’ perspectives, needs and concerns, you’ll be better prepared to communicate your ideas and solutions, and to persuade others to come on board. This is essential to leading, whether it means a small group or an entire corporation. Active listening is an art - it is underrated and takes significant practice to master. Identify a leader in your organization who is a strong active listener and watch how they lead. You can also master this skill by taking a course on active listening as part of your own career development.

3. Communicate with purposeBoosting your communication skills is critical to being both a leader and a team player. Demonstrate to your manager and your team that you know how to address the bigger picture, and show how your work ties to the overall company strategy. Express your vision of the larger mission or goals of the organization, as opposed to getting caught up in the details.How you express yourself also makes a huge difference. Be concise, purposeful and confident in your statements. This will help you build a strong executive presence and build trust among you and your colleagues. Don’t wait for a promotion to come to you. Now’s the time to be proactive and focus on growing your skill set. Show what you’re learning by actively taking on new challenges and communicating with purpose and confidence. To learn more about mastering the skills you need to advance in your career and get that promotion, visit www.linkedin.com/learning.—

Four Tax Tips for Online Filers in 2019

As time continues to tick, millions of tax filers are beginning to feel the pressure to file a tax return. But big questions still remain, and for those filing online, those questions are compounded by the myriad options for submitting a return.

Fortunately for those online filers, there is such a thing as sound advice. With help from some of America’s renowned tax experts, we’ve compiled a list of the top four tips for filing online in 2019.

1. Organization is important - especially if you’re filing online: Organizing necessary documents is one of the most important steps to make tax preparation smoother. Start with gathering last year’s tax return. Online filers will need information from this document. From there, secure income documents, receipts, etc. Checking the documents against a checklist can help taxpayers be sure they’ve got everything they need. Missing tax documents can mean missing out on entitled tax benefits. Taxpayers can find ready-to-use checklists or customize their own online, at places like hrblock.com/checklist. 2. Digitize documents: Taxpayers can avoid the paper chase of finding tax and financial documents by downloading online copies whenever possible or snapping pictures of hard copies. These files can then be placed in an online storage tool like MyBlock.

3. Life is FULL of distractions, so limit yours when filing a return. A recent survey from H&R Block

asked consumers what sort of things they do when filing their taxes, and the answers were interesting. People browse social media, watch TV, cook dinner, yell at their kids, and so on. More distractions can mean a higher likelihood of mistakes or missed credits and deductions. Limit those distractions and focus on the task at hand.

4. Take advantage of help options: Fortunately, taxpayers don’t have to make a choice between doing their taxes themselves or completely turning over the preparation to a tax professional. Before committing to any specific online tax filing product, taxpayers should be sure to investigate what assistance options are available in case they get stuck or have concerns. Most online tax filing products offer some sort of assistance, whether it’s going to an in-product help center or even having a tax pro review their completed return before it is submitted to the IRS.

Taxpayers looking for a middle ground may want to select something like H&R Block’s new Ask a Tax Pro service that gives them unlimited, on-demand chat sessions with a tax expert, so they can get the help they need as they are working on their tax returns.

“This tax season may be a time when even the most confident do-it-yourself filer could use a little help along the way,” said Heather Watts, senior vice president and general manager of digital at H&R Block. “Taxpayers filing online have more support options that let them decide how much or how little help they want with their tax preparation.”

Filing taxes isn’t optional for most Americans, but following these four tips can help make the doit-yourself path a lot smoother. For a full lineup of online and software tax filing products and to get started, visit hrblock.com.—