WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC-Protecting your kids from a cyber bully
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CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Cyber bullying is real and impacts more children than you might imagine.
A recent survey of 40,000 kids showed that 85% of middle school children have been cyber bullied and only 5% of them told their parents.
Cyber expert Theresa Payton wants you to take her cyber bullying awareness quiz below. She also has some ideas for easy ways to keep your kids safe.
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Test Your Cyber bullying Awareness:
1. If your child is a victim of cyber bullying, your kid now has an increased risk for traditional bullying, substance use, school and social problems.
Answer: True
2. Most victims of cyber bullying tell an adult (parent or teacher) about their experience.
Answer: False. In a recent study by Wired Safety, only 5% told an adult.
3. Most victims of cyber bullying are bullied by a stranger.
Answer: False. Only 6.5% of kids during a recent survey said they were bullied by a stranger.
4. Cyber bullying is mostly happening to boys.
Answer: False. Both boys and girls are being bullied online.
5. Which of the following can be considered "cyber bullying"?
A. Harassing text messages
B. Posting mean web messages
C. Sending or posting embarrassing pictures of someone else without their permission
D. Threatening someone on MySpace, Facebook, or another site
E. All of the above
Answer: E. All of the above
6. If your kid is being bullied online, you should tell them to
A. Turn off the phone and/or sign off the chatroom or instant message conversation
B. Tell you or another adult
C. Block the bully's accounts
D. Ignore the bully
E. Any or All of the above
Answer: E. Any or All of the above are appropriate
7. You should not call Law Enforcement if someone threatens your kid's safety online.
Answer: False. You should call the police if someone threatens your kid's safety, asks for a face to face meeting, or asks your kid to do something that breaks the law
8. If your child is bullied online, you should delete everything said to your kid. The messages are just too disturbing!
Answer: False. You should collect this evidence in case it is needed for action at the school or with law enforcement. Examples include: instant messaging logs, emails, voicemail and text messages, and screenshots or prints of offending web posts.
Family Safety Pledge:
Remember to include a "No Bullying" Policy in your family safety pledge. Ask your kids to refrain from bullying others and ask them to tell you if someone bullies them.
Have a family discussion asking your child to alert you if someone is mean to them online. Promise them you will decide together how to handle it.
Here are 5 tips to BLOCK the bullies:
B: Block the bully's account from your email, online chat, and instant messaging.
L: Look for signs such as strange reactions to text messages or avoiding going online.
O: Obscene or harassing messages that also include physical threats should be reported to law enforcement. Provide copies of the messages for evidence.
C: Contact your school if it is from another student. Consider contacting the bully's parents.
K: Keep your home computer in an open space so you can monitor activity. 70% of teens that have been cyber bullied said they received the message at home.
Suggestions for Blocking Bullies:
Social Sites:
If the bullying is occurring on MySpace or Facebook, contact those service providers. They have handled complaints of bullying before and may be able to remove the offensive remarks.
Cell Phone:
If the bullying is occurring via text messages, talk to your cell phone provider about blocking the bully's address.
Email:
If the bullying happens via email, most email services will allow you to block a specific email address.
Signs that Your Child May Be a Victim of Bullying:
Suggestions for Your Kids' School:
Most schools have a zero tolerance bullying policy; ask them to include cyber bullying
Other Resources:
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