Bullying incidents are now happening everywhere. Gone are the days when they were a preserve for locker rooms and playgrounds. The latest form of bullying is cyberbullying, which mostly affects kids in middle age. In fact, cases of kids committing suicide due to cyberbully incidents are alarming.
The same technology meant to make our lives much easier has turned out to be a nightmare for some parents. Some even seem helpless in their efforts to keep up with the technology. While you can do little to control every aspect of technology, here are some steps you can take to prevent cyberbullying.
But first things first,
What is Cyberbullying?
In simple terms, cyberbullying refers to acts of bullying that happens online. It can be threats or harassment through the many social media platforms. Today, thanks to the many apps available, your kid is at a higher risk of getting a humiliating text. In fact, the text can be sent to thousands, if not millions, within a very short period.
Children can post pictures of their peers on sites where both friends and strangers can make any type of comments.
Unfortunately, cyberbullying can occur anywhere and at any time. This way, the effects, and the potential damage are far greater than those of traditional bullying.
So what steps can parents take to combat this vice? Here are some tips to help prevent your kids from cyberbullying. We’ll also recommend you to look at the cyberbullying infographic from parentology to understand more about this vice.
Ways Parents Can Prevent Cyberbullying
1. Leave Nothing to Chance
Most parents assume that their kids will never engage in cyberbullying or will never interact with kids with such behaviors. This is a huge mistake. All kids, even the nicest ones, can easily be carried away when their peers are reading an unfriendly post on Facebook or watching a nasty video on YouTube.
Most kids don’t think cyberbullying can cause real harm. In the case of traditional bullying, kids may feel embarrassed since they can witness an act of hurt and avoid committing the vice. Since kids cannot relate to a real situation in cyberbullying, most of them, even the kindest, are likely to hit the “send” button.
2. Don’t Just Let Kids Be
Cyberbullying, just like traditional bullying occurs in kids whose parents assume that it will make the victims of the vice toughen up.
However, such a stand will not affect your kid and the victim, it also shows a lack of parenting responsibility.
Before you take a cavalier stand on your kid’s role in cyberbullying, it is important to think carefully. What if your child is the victim of this vice? Will you assume that kids are being kids? What if you were the victim? Would you still consider it an act of innocence?
Bullying for any reason is bad. Don’t turn the other way if your child is involved in it. Be a responsible parent and control the situation.
3. Communicate Regularly with Your Kid
As a responsible parent, you should have regular conversations about cyberbullying with your kid. Many kids think it’s funny to post a nasty remark or an embarrassing photo. They don’t usually think about how that will impact other people’s feelings. In fact, most of them have no slightest that what they are doing is bullying.
Give clear guidelines to your child. Let them know that it’s a crime to post mean texts online. Advise them to tell you if any of their friends are engaging in bullying activities online.
Your kids are less likely to engage in cyberbullying if they know you won’t tolerate the behavior.
4. Monitor Your Kid’s Technology Usage
Even if you don’t understand technology, you should not fail to monitor how it affects your child’s life. With or without knowledge of technology, don’t allow your kid to get lost in the world of the internet.
Talking to someone who understands the latest tools that kids use can be an excellent place to start if you don’t know about technology. It can be from a library, your kid’s friends, or anyone close to you. While it’s true kids are a step ahead on matter technology, parents should do everything possible to monitor their kids’ online activities.
5. Check Your Kids’ Friends List
As said earlier, kids are more inclined to do what their friends are doing. Watch who your child is networking with and the extent of their relationship. This will not just help prevent your child from bullying someone but minimize the likelihood of being bullied as well.
