3 Most Important Tips For Parents To Prevent Cyber Bullying

3 Most Important Tips For Parents To Prevent Cyber Bullying

 

Put Kids Computers In a Central Location
Put Kids Computers In a Central Location Photo: Leonie Smith

1. Supervision

You can not properly supervise your children on the Internet if they use computers behind closed doors, out of your eyesight and out of earshot, (ipods and smart phones are computers too!). Computers and kids must be placed in a central location in your residence for effective supervision. This is the number 1. cyber bullying prevention tool! You need to be able to be there on the spot if your child gets a nasty message on Facebook or YouTube, often their physical reaction to what they are reading will alert you to a problem well before they tell you. It will be much easier if you have all the computers in a high traffic are, to catch any problems early and talk about what is happening whilst it is happening. Under these conditions you will also be able to casually see what they are watching or doing online.

2. Education

Check with your school to see if your children have been receiving any Internet safety talks and what subjects those talks have covered. If you, as a parent or carer are given an opportunity to attend a talk on cyber safety or social network safety, it is very important you make sure you find the time to attend. Even if you are I.T savvy you will find some great ideas from other parents and the speaker about how to better control your children’s time online and will get the latest up to date options, you may also be able to help other parents with your own ideas. If your children have not been given any education about Cyber Safety at school, then contact your school and suggest it.  Education for your child and for you is the 2nd MOST important tool to prevent Cyber Bullying. I give talks to parents, educators and school students.

3. Security

If your child is ever cyber bullied you need to understand what security measures can be implemented to prevent the cyber bully from ever contacting your child again. Firstly make sure you have basic internet safety set in place. Make sure your Modem has a firewall turned on, your computer has a firewall turned on, and an anti-virus program is set up to do regular virus update checks. Then make sure all the available privacy settings are set up on any application your child uses to communicate with others. Including online games, messaging apps, YouTube, and Facebook and email. You and your children need to know where the blocking tools are on each application to be able to protect your child. This is the 3rd most important tool to prevent a re-accurance of cyber bullying. My booklet on this website has details on where to find those settings on Facebook MSN YouTube and Skype. Which are the most used of all the applications for Australian Children today.

These 3 tips are by far the 3 most important tools to prevent and stop cyber bullying of you and your family. How are you dealing with Cyber Bullying prevention? would you like to add any other important tips to this list?

This video below shows an interesting perspective on Cyber Bullying

Follow Me on Twitter! Click here ? @_LeonieGSmith

 

Leave a reply