Here are three important steps that you can take to empower your family to stand up against bullying.
1. Educate
o Make sure to provide your child with knowledge about bullying and cyberbullying. Offer some examples of things that a bully might do or say. This will help your student better understand. And, of course, let your student know that he or she can always come to you for help!
o Before your child starts being active on social media, teach him or her some social media etiquette. With the daily rise of social media websites, cyberbullying is quickly increasing—but kids can easily learn how to be respectful online.
o Remind your child that it is always important to be kind to others. Explain why treating someone poorly can sometimes have negative consequences.
2. Recognize
o Keep a close eye on your child’s social media pages. Even if you already had a discussion about being polite online, it doesn’t hurt to take a look once in a while just to make sure the environment is positive.
3. Take Action
o You could prevent bullying from happening by developing your child’s conflict resolution skills. Kids often resort to bullying because they don’t know how to properly deal with a specific issue. A little clarity and knowledge about conflict can really make a difference between being an agent of change vs. a bystander to bullying!
Bullying is hardly a new problem, but with its damaging effects in the spotlight recently, public awareness has grown. We encourage you to build upon this awareness and have your family take a positive stand against this negative behavior.
If you have a bullying or harassment issue that needs to be investigated, please complete this form: (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16zWAnR1vF00lnPcCF3Vx6KbAdgEqrDxA29PNCy6b6lE/viewform)