Teach Your Kids About How to Handle Cyberbullying

Bullies. They used to tease us, humiliate us, and embarrass us in front of the whole school when we were younger. We used to cry and ask our teachers and parents for help. One step at home and no one could touch us, that we were really sure of. But, is that the same for your kids now?

Do they feel safe when they are home? With their cell phones in their hands, they are prone to every sort of danger out there.

Recently, a new way of picking up on each other through phones and the internet has revealed that is called ‘cyberbullying’. Little do the kids know that the smartphone they are enjoying is actually a source of stress for them, if not now than later for sure. They don’t even know how to handle cyberbullying and this is where the parents need to play an effective role.

It is the right of every kid to get upset when someone says bad things about him either on the face or through the internet. Parents usually think of it as the responsibility of the school to keep a check on these things. But, is that enough? Nowadays, the bullies have gone beyond their limits to fulfill their purpose of humiliating the victims.

What Constitutes Cyberbullying?

A cyberbully is indulged in the following activities to fulfill the purpose of humiliating the victim:

• Posting threatening pictures, invitations, or sexual threats to the victim.
• Sending threatening and harassing text messages.
• Calling embarrassing names
• Posting rude comments about the victim anywhere.
• Spreading fake rumors about the victims.
• Making websites and blogs about the victim for humiliating them especially.
• Using personal information of the victims to embarrass them publicly.

Such online activities have very devastating effects on kids. Such as:

• Victims of cyberbullying struggle hard to make friends because they are so humiliated and embarrassed.
• Small conflicts escalate as the students often misunderstand the tone of a post or message.
• The victims feel that everyone around them knows everything about them which makes them anti-social.
• The victim’s self-esteem and self-worth are lost.
• The victim tries to make the changes to fit into society.
• Everything that is published online will be there for the rest of their lives. It makes them regret it for the rest of their lives and affect them later.
• They find it hard to live their lives normally. They can hardly communicate like they used to do before.
• Bullies make this habit of not caring about anyone’s feelings because they actually don’t care what is being felt behind the device.

With these adverse effects, it is necessary to teach your kids about how to handle cyberbullying. It might take some time and guidance but they require to learn to handle this on their own.

How to Handle Cyberbullying?

Here is what you can teach your kids about dealing with cyberbullying.

1. Don’t Get Too Much Involved

Everything in life has a good and bad side. If your kid is like a fighter and he wants to fight back, teach him that it is okay to respond wisely, but they shouldn’t get hurt in the process. The Internet has made communications really easy and revolutionized. It has become easy for the kids to talk rudely about each other. Tell your kids that they shouldn’t do the same in return as it won’t make it a wise move.

2. They Want to See Them Upset

The only purpose of bullies in doing these things is to make your kids angry and upset. When upset, kids might respond in a stupid way which can add up to their humiliation. So, teach them to think before responding in anger. This is what the bullies want. Don’t let them have their fun and leave them and their tactics.

3. Use Privacy Settings Wisely

When you have just given them mobile phones, it is necessary to teach them about the right use. Make their social media accounts with them and show them the privacy measures each platform offers. Make sure they know how important it is to manage their accounts wisely not to let any stranger surpass their privacy.

4. Keep Evidence

The government also lets you deal with cyberbullying legally. You can seek legal help and for that, you need evidence. So, show your kids how they can play it nicely and save all the evidence that is required to prove their innocence. If things get worse, they can file a case with the evidence in their hands which will make their case strong.

5. Use Parental Control App

A good parental control app can let you play your role as parents, smartly and wisely. It lets you monitor their activities, know their chats, and stuff about their internet activities. You can keep track of their messages and calls as well. You can know who is approaching them and with whom are they chatting.

Knowing these things can make you foresee the danger and guide your kids about it before the time. SecureTeen is a good parental control app that has some amazing features that allow you to keep track of your kids.

6. Open Communication

Parents should have an open communication policy with their kids. They should encourage their kids to talk to them about any issue that irritates them including cyberbullying. Kids are usually shy about the things that happen to them so they usually don’t share these things with their parents.

It is the duty of the parents to make sure that the kids know that they can come to them anytime they want. They should accept their kids as they are and appreciate them for their honesty. This is how kids can share with their parents and come to them before making any mistake. Parents are the only beings that can help their kids in the hour of need. So, they should be there for them.

Reference Article:

https://www.secureteen.com/cyberbullying/how-to-deal-with-with-cyberbullying