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Cyberbullying can be devastating. For Bullying Prevention Month this October, here are essential ways parents, teachers, and youth advocates can help kids learn how to cope with electronic aggression.
Young people facing cyberbullying need our support!
Every day in the news, we hear about children so traumatized by cyberbullying that they no longer want to go to school, interact with friends, or worse. Busy adults need to recognize the problem and help kids and teens learn to cope safely.
October is Bullying Prevention Month in the US, and we at Kidpower International will be providing resources you can use right away and share with others. To start with, we want to share three important steps that adults can use to prepare children to protect themselves and enable them to regain their emotional safety and confidence after facing bullying online or in person.
The harm caused by cyberbullying is very real. Our youth have never been more connected and more exposed to the risk of it occurring, and it can be devastating. Bullying in any form – in person or online– puts children at significant emotional risk, especially during the years when what peers say is often considered more important than what parents say. As adults, we need to help kids reduce feelings of helplessness and anxiety by providing support, taking action to prevent further problems, and teaching skills.
Here are three of the seven important steps that parents and teachers can take to help children stay safe from cyberbullying.
- Stay involved with what your kids are doing. Spend time with your children and teens both online and everywhere else. Make sure you know what they are doing with technology.
- Provide genuine support if a child is cyberbullied. Listen, be supportive and focus the fact it’s not their fault, and promise them you are going to take all steps possible to correct the problem.
- Teach kids skills for staying safe online. Teach them to stay aware, recognize what is and is not safe, stay in charge of what they say and do no matter how they feel inside, set clear and appropriate boundaries, and be persistent in getting help from busy adults.
Additional Resources
7 Strategies to Keep Young People Safe From Cyberbullying
Kidpower Digital Citizenship and Safety Agreement
Face Bullying With Confidence: 8 Kidpower Skills We Can Use Right Away
More Kidpower Bullying Solutions
If you or your children are facing a bullying problem, you can contact us for suggestions on what to do. Finally, please share this press release with your personal, social, and professional networks, to promote resources for Bullying Prevention Month in your community.
Published: September 27, 2017 | Last Updated: September 27, 2017
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Founder and Executive Director
Kidpower Founder and Executive Irene van der Zande is a master at teaching safety through stories and practices and at inspiring others to do the same. Her child protection and personal safety expertise has been featured by USA Today, CNN, Today Moms, the LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Publications include: cartoon-illustrated Kidpower Safety Comics and Kidpower Teaching Books curriculum; Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe; the Relationship Safety Skills Handbook for Teens and Adults; Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People, and the Amazon Best Seller Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.
