How to Combat Cyber-bullying
Cyber-bullying is a relatively new form of bullying that can be very harmful to your child. Whereas bullies of the past resorted to physical or verbal taunts, cyber-bullies torture their peers online. Cyber-bullying can encompass forum postings and messages as well as emails and text messages. The most important way to prevent cyber-bullying is to make sure your child knows he can always come to you and tell you what is happening. The more you know about your child's life online, the better you will be able to see changes in behavior that may indicate that someone is trying to cyber-bully him.
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Instructions
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Prevent Cyber-Bullying
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Talk to your child about how he should act online. Make sure your child understands that there are things he should not post online and that he cannot be completely anonymous online.
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Keep your child's computer in the living room or another main living area of the house. If the computer stays in his room, you will be less likely to know what sites he is visiting and what he is doing online.
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3
Talk to your child regularly about what websites he visits. Become familiar with his buddy or friend lists and be sure you know his user names.
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Look at your child's profiles online and have him change them if he has posted anything inappropriate. Be sure he understands that anything posted online stays on the Internet forever.
Combating Cyber-Bullying
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Show your child that you support him. Be sure he understands that being bullied is not his fault and commend him for telling you about the problem.
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Obtain all of the information you can about the cyber-bullying your child is experiencing. Print everything that you can and take screenshots of as many of the messages as possible. Do not delete any of the messages in case you need them for further evidence.
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Use a search engine to find out if your child is being bullied anywhere else on the Internet. Search by your child's name as well as by all user names that he uses online.
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Contact the bully's Internet service provider or the owner of the website where the bullying is happening. Bullying is against the Terms of Service for most websites and Internet service providers. Be prepared to send copies of any evidence to support your claim.
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Contact your child's teacher or school administrator if the bully is one of your child's classmates. Cyber-bullying can become real-life bullying very easily.
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Contact the authorities if the cyber-bullying does not stop or if it escalates.
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Tips & Warnings
Talk regularly with your child about his activities online. Make sure he knows that he can come to you if he is having trouble with an online bully. Make note of any changes in his behavior.
References
- Photo Credit Boy relaxing on sofa in livingroom using laptop for internet image by kuhar from Fotolia.com
