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What to do if your child is being cyberbullied – psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos gives tips and advice to parents
To hear that your child has been bullied at school is enough to upset or concern any parent. But what if you were told that this bullying had extended beyond the school gates and into your own home?
With an increasing amount of children owning their own smartphone or games console, the name-calling, flaming and harassment can affect a child day and night.
Here are some steps you can take if your child has been cyberbullied:
- Talk to your child – find the right time to approach them if you think they’re being bullied or harassed
- Show your support – it’s important to keep your cool, be considerate and tell them how you’ll help them get through it
- Don’t take away their devices – by stopping them going online or restricting usage might make things worse and make your child feel more isolated than they already feel
- Help them to deal with it independently – if it’s among school friends, advise them to tell the person how it made them feel and ask to take any comments or pictures down
- Don’t retaliate – by getting angry, you’ll put your child in a very uncomfortable position. Advise your child not to respond to abusive messages and leave conversations if they’re unhappy with that they’re seeing
- Block the bullies – if the cyberbully keeps “flaming” you or spamming you with messages, block and report the sender to the social media network or gaming platform
- Keep the evidence – make sure every incident is recorded. Take screenshots of conversations and emails and print them out in case you need them later as proof of what’s happened
- Don’t deal with it alone – don’t be afraid to ask your friends and family for support if necessary – they might have had similar experiences. If necessary, talk to your child’s teacher, as the school will have an anti-bullying policy
Dr Linda Papadopoulos is supporting the campaign by Internet Matters helping parents deal with cyberbullying. The not-for-profit organisation, backed by BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin, Google and the BBC, has compiled new guidance, comprehensive information, and resources for parents, available to download on www.internetmatters.org/issues/cyberbullying