How to Deal with Cyberbullying to Protect your Teens?

Bullies. A long time ago, their areas of the attack were the school’s backyard, playground, tunnel, or such sort of isolated places. You had to deal with them right there, at the moment. The biggest achievement was to leave the place unharmed. Once you were home, you were safe and at peace because you knew they wouldn’t reach you there. That is how bullying used to be in the past era, but now things have taken another edge.

But the era has changed. And now their playground is social media and the internet, which is with you almost all the time. Kids can’t feel safe once they have reached home because they have cell phones in their hands and bullies can reach them through them all the time. Once a humiliating picture is posted on the internet, the comments and responses will keep on notifying you. This is the time parents and teens sit together and figure out how to deal with cyberbullying.

Most parents are reluctant in dealing with such situations, but if handled wisely, things can be solved. With the adverse effects of cyberbullying on teens, it is necessary to plan prevention and solutions for it.

Tips for Kids and Teens to Deal with Cyberbullying

If you are a parent, you must develop a worthy relationship with the kids to teach them about these dangers. No matter what caused the cyberbullying, here are some tips for teens and kids to deal with cyberbullying that parents can teach:

·Know It Is Not Your Fault

Sometimes bullying is a result of an argument between two people. Kids can blame themselves for the conversation or the fight that they had. But, tell them that if the other person is showing cruelty, it is because of their nature.

·Reach Out for Help

Encourage them to reach out for help whenever they feel the need to. They shouldn’t feel shy and reluctant in talking to you about the issues they are having. Show them that you accept them as they are.

·Don’t Respond

Sometimes all bullies want is an aggressive reaction. Kids are impulsive, sometimes they react suddenly and it results in making the situation worse. Teach them patience and show them that their one reaction can trigger a chain reaction.

·Save the Evidence

The only good thing about cyberbullying is that you will have all the photos, messages, calls, and stuff saved as evidence. They can use the evidence in case things escalate.

·Protect Your Accounts

The moment they make social media accounts, make sure that they know the privacy settings. Teach them how they can save their passwords and stuff to keep themselves protected. Most of the kid doesn’t know how to use these settings.

How to Deal with Cyberbullying When You Are a Parent?

For parents, there are some important things that you can do on your own to protect your kids. Use the following tips to deal with cyberbullying for your kids:

·Be Available When Your Child Asks for Help

Those parents are lucky whose kids share with them. Not all the kids gather the courage to share their humiliating experiences with adults. You must be available to them whenever they feel disturbed and let them share their issues with you. The most important thing is not to judge them when they ask you for help.

·Work with The Child

There are several reasons why involving your child in the process of dealing with cyberbullying can help. Cyberbullying often involves loss of control over the social situation and loss of dignity, involving them in finding solutions can help them regain their confidence. Secondly, they must know how to deal with such cases in the future.

·Listen to The Victim

What victims say matters a lot. Listen to them when they are sharing their story with you. There are some details that only they would remember and that might help. Parents often make the mistake of ignoring their kids at this crucial point, thinking of them as emotional ones.

·Respond Wisely

If your child has just shared his worst experience with you, and you responded with anger, they will learn that too. The way you respond to the issue impacts their emotions and behaviors. You must keep it wise and deal with it patiently. No need to panic and all aggressive suddenly. They need to know from you about how to handle the situation calmly and wisely.

·Parental Control App

There are tons of parental control apps in the market now for smart parenting. You can just install the app on your phone and the child’s phone, and you will get all the information about their activities. You can monitor their messages, call logs, social media accounts, and also manage their screen time.

A good parental control app like SecureTeen can help you know whenever your kid is in trouble. Sometimes, they might not know which conversation is leading to a dangerous situation or they simply just don’t tell you when they are facing trouble. In such cases, it is wise to know at the moment when things are just starting. You can warn your kids right away and guide them through it the best way.

Cyberbullying is no doubt, an issue to worry about for the parents. Ever since this sort of bullying has started, several cases are being reported of self-harm and suicide by the kids due to the embarrassment that they couldn’t handle. Many kids fall into depression and many hide their true emotions thus torturing themselves. With such cases rising every day, it is the point of worry for the parents.

Using smart communication and parental control apps can help parents in dealing with this sensitive issue along with many other things. Any changes in kids’ behavior and habits should be noticed properly because these small things indicate what they are going through. Though it is hard for the parents to deal with such situations as well, with the rise in technologies, it is the need of the time to take the necessary step for such dangers.