How Kids can Respond to being Cyberbullied
It is important that parents take cyberbullying seriously. There have been a few high-profile cases in the news recently in which victims have taken drastic measures as a response to the viciousness of cyberbullies. The following are ways in which parents can intervene when their child is cyberbullied.
Help your child deal with it
If the threats from the cyberbullies are not serious, then the parent can first try to help their child deal with it on his or her own. For instance, one great strategy is to simply ignore the attacks. Oftentimes the cyberbullies love the fact that their victims get upset and fight back. They may loathe most of all when someone just completely ignores them. Oftentimes they will give up after a while if they get no response. Also, there are ways that you can set up your online accounts to ignore or block certain people. Most e-mail accounts allow you to filter out undesirable e-mails, and services like Facebook let you get rid of people as your friends and approve someone before they can become your friend.
Contact the online services
If there is a specific online service that the cyberbullies are utilizing, then you can contact them. This type of behavior is usually against the policies of these websites and they may warn them or even suspend them for this behavior.
Talk to the cyberbully’s parents
If the victim’s parents know the parents of the cyberbullies, then they might want to contact them to discuss the situation. Oftentimes, the parents will be very surprised and upset to hear about their child’s behavior and they may help get it stopped.
Talk to the school
If the cyberbullies go to the same school as your child, then you can discuss it with them. There is a good chance that some of this behavior is being repeated there. They might be able to talk to the students and/or his parents and impose sanctions if it is not remedied.
Contact the bully yourself
Some parents will get on their child’s account and send a cease and desist order themselves. Cyberbullies are often very cowardly (it’s easy to hide behind a computer). Of course the parent should say something appropriate such as telling them to stop the behavior and that the school will be contacted otherwise. When faced with the prospect of truly getting in trouble, the cyberbullies may stop.
Contact the authorities
If it is to the point that it is truly harassment, then the parents can contact the authorities. In light of the recent tragedies, many areas are now enacting laws against cyberbullying. You can at least find out how they can help you.
A parent should not allow their child to be cyberbullied. They can intervene in the above ways.
Article ViewerClose
Helium 360 – Living Local 360
LIVING LOCAL PROJECT 20100901 – 20100930
What to do when the Weather is too Hot at Disneyland
by Suzanne Rose
WritingImagesAttachments