The website Cyberbullying Research Center (http://cyberbullying.us/) is an education tool for parents, educators, and teens. Teens can share their stories of cyberbulllying and read the stories of others. There are a multitude of resources available on the website as well. Some key resources:
I think the first thing that both parents and educators can do to help with cyberbullying in to make students aware of the situation and discuss how to respond and recognize the situations. I liked the prevention tip sheet because there are many things that teens do to unwittingly expose themselves to cyberbullying and identity theft. Following these tips can be a first defense against bullying. The response to bullying sheet was a great tool for teens to use to help them react to a bullying situation. Many kids keep the pain and hurt inside and don’t tell adults when there is a problem.
I had a student cyberbullying another student on Facebook. Once the parents were notified, the situation was quickly diffused and the student took down the offending material and apologized. Many times, involving parents is all it takes to resolve the situation.
Hopefully, as more people become aware of the dangers of cyberbullying and laws enforcement is able to act (meaning cyberbullying laws are enacted), the problem will become more manageable and deaths can be prevented. However, just like face-to-face bullying, the problem is not going to completely go away. Our job as parents and educators is to give our children/students the skills to prevent and cope with bullying.
- A resource sheet for common abbreviations used to chat or text: http://www.cyberbullying.us/cyberbullying_chat_abbreviations.pdf This information is helpful for parents to be able to decode what is being said to or by their teens.
- An information pamphlet for identification, prevention, and response to cyberbullying: http://www.cyberbullying.us/Cyberbullying_Identification_Prevention_Response_Fact_Sheet.pdf
- A tip sheet for teens to prevent cyberbullying: http://www.cyberbullying.us/Top_Ten_Tips_Teens_Prevention.pdf
- A tip sheet for teens to respond to cyberbullying: http://www.cyberbullying.us/Top_Ten_Tips_Teens_Response.pdf
I think the first thing that both parents and educators can do to help with cyberbullying in to make students aware of the situation and discuss how to respond and recognize the situations. I liked the prevention tip sheet because there are many things that teens do to unwittingly expose themselves to cyberbullying and identity theft. Following these tips can be a first defense against bullying. The response to bullying sheet was a great tool for teens to use to help them react to a bullying situation. Many kids keep the pain and hurt inside and don’t tell adults when there is a problem.
I had a student cyberbullying another student on Facebook. Once the parents were notified, the situation was quickly diffused and the student took down the offending material and apologized. Many times, involving parents is all it takes to resolve the situation.
Hopefully, as more people become aware of the dangers of cyberbullying and laws enforcement is able to act (meaning cyberbullying laws are enacted), the problem will become more manageable and deaths can be prevented. However, just like face-to-face bullying, the problem is not going to completely go away. Our job as parents and educators is to give our children/students the skills to prevent and cope with bullying.