How to Stand Up Against Cyber Bullying

The onset of the modern technology has caused major changes on how people live and interact with each other. This modernity brought to life the immense growth of the cyber world, as more and more individuals rely on this form of media for various motivations, from gathering of the latest information, to purchasing the latest model in fashion and gadgetry, to social interaction and more. In fact, according to the latest statistics, 26.6% of the world populations are internet users, way above than the 4.1 percentage ten years ago. And the numbers are rising, as social media networks or those websites that caters to the social needs of people are getting enormously popular over the years.

However, along with this positive development is its negative consequence. Because the internet is a world based on freedom of speech and lesser accountability, it has become an avenue for bullies to oppress unfortunate victims. Social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter have been the subjects of numerous complaints from the society because it lacks control on its content, which some individuals made use to bully other kids hence the beginning of cyber bullying. And because these sites are very popular, the cyber bullying then gets uglier every time.

As a parent, you must be very vigilant in these kinds of oppression against your child. Read the article below and know how to combat the many forms of cyber bullying and what you should do to avoid them from happening to your own kid.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/20/AR2010072005362.html

The Media Helped Solved a case of Bullying

And we thought that the common perpetrators of bullying in the school are fellow students themselves. But it seems that even adults can be the reason why our kids would go home downhearted, confused and bullied. Imagine, the lady bus driver taunting and teasing a child just because of his disorder?

The school did not do anything about the complaints of the mother, but only did something when the media picked up the bullying case and started reporting it. I guess we now have an institution to turn to when our complaints of bullying fell into deaf ears. Go to the media and report your case of bullying in order for the right people to take a stand on the case.

http://www.bnd.com/2010/05/20/1263156/mom-says-school-bus-driver-taunted.html

Is “Bullycide” the New Norm?

Bullycide, a new word created to describe the very abhorrent consequence of bullying. As young as 8 years old, kids resort to suicide as the only way out of bullying, thus the term bullycide. How many times have we learned in the news about bullycide? Many times, and it gets scary every time. Especially for a parent who only wants the best for her kids, the term bullycide is something horrible. But is bullycide the new norm? As we are bombarded with news about suicides caused by bullying, is the term finding its way to the general comprehension of people? Hopefully not. Because by then it indicates that people are accepting the horrible fact that even young kids only have suicide as the only option out of being bullied.

http://www.theprovince.com/life/Exposure+stops+bullies/2762059/story.html

Bully Proof your Children

I came across recently an article that enables parents to guide them on how to prevent hostilities such as bullying to ever happening in their own kids. As a parent myself, I found the article worthy of reading. What struck me the most, is that the only way to bully proof my kids will be my ultimate responsibility. Indeed parents are the frontrunners in keeping the lives of their kids with peace and security. It is in how parents raise their kids, enable a healthy home life, securing an open communication among others will definitely help you to ward off any untoward hostilities to your kids. So if you want to bully proof your children, make sure that you keep in heart your parental duties and obligations.

http://bullying.suite101.com/article.cfm/bully_proofing_children

To Escape Bullying, a Car Hit a Boy

First the worry, then the anger. This is what a mother of an 8-year old kid from Australia felt when she learned that a car hit her son just because he was fleeing from a bully in his school. The worry is tantamount because as parents we do not want our kids to get hurt. The effects of the accident caused major physical pain and injuries to the child, thus adding on to the mother’s worries. What is worse is that the car hit the boy because he has to run away from a persistent bully in school. Now the anger sets in. The mother could no longer understand the inactive stance of the school since she already reported such incidents of bullying that his child went through before the accident happened. But alas, the school did not made any efforts to stop nor prevent such violent incidents. If only the school took a proactive stance, then the car accident could not have happened to the hapless boy.

This is what we consider a very avertable situation. If only there was an immediate action that the school made when the mother complained of such bullying against her child, then the whole thing could not have happened. That is why; it is very imperative for the school to be always vigilant and proactive in dealing against bullying right under their premises or jurisdiction. We all know by now that the consequence of not taking a stand against bullying is far more damaging, like what happened to the boy in the news.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/boy-8-injured-fleeing-bully/story-e6frf7jo-1225836709725

Encourage Your Kids to Open Up with You

We have heard of stories about instances of bullying where the victims ultimately have to tragically end their young lives only to escape such torments. Horrible for any parent to read or hear in the news, but it is a sad reality. Bullying has been with us for so many years, in the school or at the workplace. Everywhere you go there will always be someone trying to bully you. The worse part today is because of the onslaught of technology, bullying has evolved over the years. Bullies are found in the halls of the school, in the canteen, in the school bus and now even in the internet. Cyber bullying has risen to an alarming number and still we could not do anything about it. Much like we could not do anything to prevent its physical counterpart.

As parents we can do everything to prevent cases of violent bullying against our children escalating to a horrible consequence. That is, to let our children open up with us everything that has been going on in their lives. We must be our children’s friends apart from the parents that we are. We must know when and how to listen to them in order for our children to be open with us. In this sense, we could guide them in situations when they are taunted, teased or bullied. We could easily make the necessary action to prevent further bullying on our child just because we know of the situation first hand.

Encouraging you kid to open up with you can be an essential tool to prevent any kind of bullying to ever happening to your child. Because even before things go out of hand, you already have the knowledge of the situation beforehand and this gives you more time to plan and act on it, before things escalate to an even bigger dilemma.

http://www.news.com.au/national/bullying-survey-victim-felt-isolated-and-ashamed/story-e6frfkvr-1225835405490

Physical Bullying Down, Cyber Bullying may be Up

As a parent, will you be happy to know that according to recent reports, physical bullying number is down but cyber bullying is rising? Do you think that since bullying now is hiding in the pretense of social networking sites hence it is far less harmful than the obvious physical torments by school bullies? I do not think so. Bullying might have evolved over the years but it is still what it is, bullying. In reality, more and more young kids abhor the idea of cyber bullying than its physical counterpart. This is so because the internet is the social avenue of the young people and being bullied there is far worse than being physically bullied at school. Being bullied in social sites like Facebook or Myspace is a death altogether of their social life, period. Therefore, the numbers does not count. In fact, it is even more abhorrent because cyber bullying is more difficult to trace and prevent.


http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/86438267.html

Arm the School with the Right Tool to Combat Bullying

Parents can finally heave a sigh of relief in terms of combating bullying in schools, only if these schools will take a proactive stand in the issue, like what happened in Colorado. School administrators in Colorado banded together to fight the violence that is creeping innocent children within their jurisdiction. Bullies no more as they have taken a rather down to business stance against bullying.

This is what schools all over the world should follow as well. Instead of waiting for things to go out of hand, why not band yourselves together and start acting as one. One in the fight against bullying. One in preserving security and safety of all children.

http://www.coloradoconnection.com/news/story.aspx?id=396980

Finally, there is now a Law to Combat Bullying in Schools!

There is now a law that requires stringent measures against school bullying in Ontario Canada. This is the first ever measure that was passed in the said province that would really help a lot in preventing bullying in schools. Hopefully, more provinces not just in Canada but in the US as well to follow suit.

The said law requires school staff to be very vigilant in reporting any signs of bullying in their premises. In this way, even before the violent case erupts into a more serious one, proper authorities will easily prevent it.


http://www.news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2009/06/keeping-our-kids-safe-at-school.html

Inculcate Healthy Relationships within the Family To Prevent Bullying

We have always known that love begins at home. Parents have the foremost responsibility in inculcating healthy relationships for the children to live by, especially when they start living their own lives outside home.

As cases of suicides brought about by severe bullying were reported even in kids younger as 11 years old, socialists are now trying to arm parents all over the world to be vigilant and be proactive in preventing such a case from happening to their children. One such strategy for prevention would be to let the children instill in their minds an understanding of having a healthy relationship as an essential part of living.

We must understand that there will be no bullies only if all families live by the doctrine of a healthy relationship within. There have been studies that indicate bullies as individuals with low self-esteem, most probably due to an unloving family. Likewise, if your child lives in a family that respects individuality, they will be more understanding towards other children and that they will not be easily bullied since they can very well converse properly what they think is right and wrong. So parents, again and again, should be the one to start for their children how it is to live in a healthy environment, and that is in the home.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100201/OPINION/2010367/-1/NEWS06

Parents Must Be Aware Against Rampant Cases of Cyberbullying

Bullying as we all know has been present since the beginning of time. Even the years before us, there have been cases of bullying in school, at home and even in the workplace. It has become a part of the culture though sadly it should not have been.

What is sadder than this thought is the fact that bullying has evolved into a more atrocious and horrendous act of violence. Before when a child is being bullied at school, he can still go home and be at peace there without the worries that bullies will taunt them at home. But today, because of the onset of technology, bullying does not stop at the four walls of the campus. Because bullies can send texts, call on the phone and even post derogatory remarks via the social sites in the internet only to bully a child.

In fact, more and more cases of cyber bullying have been reported. And these abhorrent cases were even the cause of suicide of the bullied child. That is why, parents must not only look at the cases of bullying in school but must also safeguard their children in all the facets bullies will make use of only to torment a child. It is always best to maintain a healthy and open communication with your child in order for you to know before things get worse if indeed he or she is a victim of bullying, most especially the cyber kind.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-renee/bullying-school-texting-c_b_437476.html

Bullied Student Retaliate with Violence

Crivitz High School junior Brett Bedora could not take anymore the bullying that he has to go through at school, so he fought back. Unfortunately his efforts were not commendable since he retaliated with violence.

What happened with Bedora is a consequence of a community who could not directly be of help to victims of bullying in school. That is why; kids tend to fight back themselves, which shouldn’t be the case. But what can a kid do? This is where tougher laws and a stronger support system from the school comes in, we need it in our community, we need it for the kids - before it is too late.

http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=11929600

Bullied Kids are Helpless

How do you help your child from being helpless? That is the question most parents are pondering on upon learning that their child is being bullied from school. We have heard and even known stories of bullying that left children helpless and even their parents are powerless too. Even teachers are unable to defend students from being bullied right at the school campus.

When a child reports to a parent that he is being bullied at school, what should a parent do? Report it to the school administrators? Then what? The school will advise parents to wait while the complaint will be investigated? And during the” waiting period”, the child is still being bullied. That’s helplessness.

What do we need to do? Do we have to wait for more harrowing suicides caused by too much bullying? Now is the time to be proactive. It takes involvement of everyone concern; parents, teachers, media and most importantly the government. If the call for a more unswerving and meticulous prevention of bullying will be topmost priority of everyone, there would be no more helplessness and no more deaths.

News item:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100204bullied_kids_helpless_against_attacks/srvc=home

Bullying VS Your Child's Health

Studies have shown that children who underwent chronic bullying at school have the tendencies to develop the risks of mental illnesses. It is an alarming study, especially for parents who only want the best for their children. But how do you protect your child from these abhorrent situations when most bullying happens at school? We thought schools will be a safe haven for our children but it seems that this four-walled world our children go to every day could be the cause of their mental disorder.

Parents therefore must be armed with the right tools in combating bullying and eventually safeguard the children’s best interest, whether at school, in the community or even at home. One of these tools would be the primary understanding on what to do in case the child is indeed a victim of bullying. Likewise, it is advisable for parents to be surrounded with the right people who really know the right procedures to take to prevent and combat bullying, like the school management, counseling groups, psychiatrists or even organizations that works for the end of bullying.

It is best to be prepared and well-equipped with the right tools. This could greatly mean a lot, especially when the time comes that your child report to you that he is bullied at school. Remember, as parents, we are the primary guardians of our child’s safety and well-being.

(news item: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1175953/Bullying-childhood-multiplies-risk-mental-illness.html

The Government Must Take Charge Against Bullying

Parents value the need for stricter laws against bullying, for it is never an easy feat when a parent knows that his child is being bullied at school, much worse when a parent knows of it too late. This is the case of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, 11, from Massachusetts. His mother knew of the ordeal his son has to go through at school only because Carl committed suicide at a very young age.

It was only when the clamor hit its highest peak then the government of Massachusetts saw the need for stringent measures against bullying. This should not be the case. The government does not need news about kids committing suicides due to bullying to push them to take action. They must take action now, not later.

Parents have the foremost clamor, but it is up to the government to take the issue at hand by drafting stricter laws against bullying. Hopefully, the untimely death of Joseph will be the light to secure a safer world for all of our children to live in.

(news item: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/anti-bullying-efforts-gain-mass/story?id=9103058)