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Step 1
Figure out the exact situation. Cyber bullying is often done either directly--one teen sending another teen a bullying email or chat message--or done indirectly, which would be bombarding a child with negative emails from numerous people or sending a child a copy of a mean chat conversation.
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Step 2
Take the situation seriously but do not overreact. This is a hard middle ground for most parents. Although taking away the computer or cell phone would seem to prevent the problem, you are then punishing your child for being a victim and on the flip side by ignoring your child or telling them to ignore it, you are not understanding the depth of cyber bullying. A cyber bully, unlike a traditional bully, can harass your child in your home and at all hours of the day while sitting miles away in their own home.
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Step 3
Find out if there is a policy in your child's school about cyber bullying and if it applies. Some schools have no influence in what happens off of school grounds, but other schools do. It is important to find out if the bullying is happening on school grounds and what the current policy is related to this problem.
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Step 4
Document the occurrences and save emails, chat messages, text messages and any other harassing message in case you later find yourself in a legal situation.
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Step 5
Encourage your child to be non-responsive to the bully. This is very difficult for him and you should not discredit the emotional effects the bullying is having on your child. Try to get your child to share his feelings with you and listen supportively.
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Step 6
Contact the parent's of the bully and the ISP they use. Documented cyber bullying is against the terms of use policy of most ISP.
Comments
amylaine said
on 2/17/2008 Very useful, thank you.