It’s hard being a parent in the modern world. Not only do you have an innate desire to protect your kids from the traditional dangers like illness and injury, but you also have to think about protecting them from numerous online dangers like cyberbullying too. It’d hard! That’s why I’ve put together some tips to help you protect your child from the threat of cyberbullying below.
Prevention is better than cure
Preventing online bullying before it starts would be the ideal solution, and although that is not always possible, there are a few things you can do to hopefully stop cyberbullying before it starts.
For example, this link explains how you can monitor your child’s phone use and hopefully nip any issues that arise in the bud quickly. You could also teach your kids to be careful about what they share, so they don’t end up putting anything that could make them a target out there.
Communicate with your child
Letting your child know that they can always talk to you or their other parent about anything, and making an effort to ask them what they have been up to online – sharing content with them and looking at Youtubers they love – is a great way to open up the lines of communication and make it more likely they will come to you if they have a problem with online bullying.
Watch for behaviours changes
If your child is being bullied online, chances are their behaviour will start to change. They may become withdrawn or anxious they may stop attending activities they once loved or, a big red flag, they may stop using their phone or heading online as often as they once did. If you spot any of these warning signs, talk to them and see if you can coax the problem out of them if not, you may want to go through their recent online activity to see if you can find a problem.
Talk to the school
If it is determined that your child is being bullied online, it can be helpful to confidentially talk to the school. Often, they are in a great position to give an assembly on cyberbullying and its dangers. They know how to present information to children in such a way that it makes them think twice about their actions and this could be all that it takes to get on top of the problem.
Organise some device-free activities
If your child is being bullied online it can also be useful to get them off their devices, but you don’t want to upset them by making it too obvious why you are doing that, which is why being a bit sneaky and organising some fun days out to the zoo or a crafting place where they won’t be glued online all day can really help.
Be compassionate
It can be tempting to just take your child’s phone away from them, but kids these days rely on their phones for so many activities that it is rarely the right move. It’s better to take a compassionate approach of supporting them, listening to them and helping them where you can than being too drastic.