If your child was being bullied at school, you'd probably know about it.
There would most likely be physical signs, such as bruises or scrapes.
But if your child is being bullied on the internet how you would ever find out?
Consider the story of David Knight, a Canadian teenage who suddenly found himself the victim of cyber-bullying.
Some kids at his school set up a website devoted to making hateful comments about David and his family members. Even after the police were involved, the website stayed up for over 7 months... visible by over 6 billion people.
In the real world, a bully must usually be bigger and stronger than other kids to inflict any real damage.
But online, anyone can play the role of a cyber-bully and start to torture your child with threats, taunts and harsh words.
Recently, a survey of over 1500 students in grades 4-8 showed that over 42% had been bullied online and 53% admitted that they had typed mean or hateful things about classmates.
Do the math: There could possibly be a 95% chance that your child has been involved in cyber bullying either as the victim or the aggressor.
The Worst Case Scenario
Ryan Halligana's parents had no idea that he was a victim of cyber-bullying. Until the day he committed suicide. After that Ryan's father logged onto the computer and discovered that Ryan's classmates had been taunting him over the internet for months.
What can parents do?
To start with, you can try to keep the computer in a public part of the home.
Or you can do you best to open the lines of communication with your child and hope that if they ever do become a victim of cyber bullying they'll come talk to you about it.
But sometimes, more drastic measures are necessary. The only way to make sure your child doesn't end up the victim of cyber bullying is to be 100% aware of what your child is doing online.
There are a variety of software programs that allow you to remotely monitor you child's activity online. If the idea of spying on your child's online activities makes you uncomfortable, that's only normal.
But considering the consequences of cyber-bullying, many parents feel more than justified.
After all, by staying alert now... you may just catch wind of something easily preventable later on.
Also, you just might protect yourself from legal damages as it's quite possible that a victim of cyber-bullying could sue the aggressor in a court of law.
But if your child is being bullied on the internet how you would ever find out?
Consider the story of David Knight, a Canadian teenage who suddenly found himself the victim of cyber-bullying.
Some kids at his school set up a website devoted to making hateful comments about David and his family members. Even after the police were involved, the website stayed up for over 7 months... visible by over 6 billion people.
In the real world, a bully must usually be bigger and stronger than other kids to inflict any real damage.
But online, anyone can play the role of a cyber-bully and start to torture your child with threats, taunts and harsh words.
Recently, a survey of over 1500 students in grades 4-8 showed that over 42% had been bullied online and 53% admitted that they had typed mean or hateful things about classmates.
Do the math: There could possibly be a 95% chance that your child has been involved in cyber bullying either as the victim or the aggressor.
The Worst Case Scenario
Ryan Halligana's parents had no idea that he was a victim of cyber-bullying. Until the day he committed suicide. After that Ryan's father logged onto the computer and discovered that Ryan's classmates had been taunting him over the internet for months.
What can parents do?
To start with, you can try to keep the computer in a public part of the home.
Or you can do you best to open the lines of communication with your child and hope that if they ever do become a victim of cyber bullying they'll come talk to you about it.
But sometimes, more drastic measures are necessary. The only way to make sure your child doesn't end up the victim of cyber bullying is to be 100% aware of what your child is doing online.
There are a variety of software programs that allow you to remotely monitor you child's activity online. If the idea of spying on your child's online activities makes you uncomfortable, that's only normal.
But considering the consequences of cyber-bullying, many parents feel more than justified.
After all, by staying alert now... you may just catch wind of something easily preventable later on.
Also, you just might protect yourself from legal damages as it's quite possible that a victim of cyber-bullying could sue the aggressor in a court of law.
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