All parents want to protect their children. From the date of conception, the health and well being of your offspring is always your number one priority. Now that we have children who are so strongly connected to they cyber world, we must ourselves be just as in tune with what is happening in the cyber world.
Even our youngest students are becoming the victims of cyber bullying. With so many child friendly apps such as Musically, Instagram and Kik, and Snapchat, our children are constantly in contact with their peers. What troubles most parents is how to monitor their child's screen time, ensuring that they are not having negative interactions with others. According to a survey conducted by I-Safe America, over 40 percent of children in grade 4-8 reported that they have been the victim of cyber bullying.
So what can parents do to protect their child from cyber bullying in elementary schools?
1. Talk- Having an open and honest means of communication with your child is very important. When talking with your child about cyber bullying, let them know that you are there to hear them, without judgement. Reassure them that the communication between you are safe and supportive. Tell your child that you know about cyber bullying and you want them to feel safe enough to tell you if they are experiencing it in any form, and that your priority is to help them stop it!
2. Stay Involved - Pay attention to your child, where they go and what they do. You are involved with who their friends are, extend this same involvement to their cyber activities. Know all of your child's social media accounts and have full access to each of them. Remember that you always have access to parental-control software on their devices.
3. Set Limits - The more unsupervised and unrestricted time children have access to the internet, the greater the chances are that they can be bullied. Set some limits on the amount of time and what part of the day your child is allowed to access the internet. Be sure to also pay attention to where your child is when they are online. For younger children especially, make sure internet access happens out in the open and not behind closed doors.
4. Work Together With Schools - If you have a concern about cyber bullying, do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher or school administrator. Often cyber bullying can leak into the school building and turn into real-world bullying. Voice your concerns, ask for advice and follow up on the schools actions against cyber bullies.
5. Learn How to Respond - According to Common Sense Media, the most important thing to remember is to avoid responding. They say "engaging with a bully only fuels the fire. Plus, any response could be circulated immediately". Blocking the cyber bully should always be your first action. It is also important to save the bully's email, screen name or handle in order to share it with authorities.
Need more information on this topic? Check out this video!
