The most important thing is to talk to your child about the issue. If a child is by any chance being bullied, he or she may be embarrassed by what is happening, not understand what is going on, think it is their problem, fear that the bullying may increase or be afraid of losing access to technology if their parents find out. 

Discuss cyber bullying with your children and ask if they have ever experienced it or seen it happen to someone. Assure your children that you won't blame them if they are bullied. Let your child know that it’s fine to use phones and computers and to be online with friends, but their safety and privacy are even more important. 

Technology is a part and parcel of today’s world, so we cannot completely ignore it. However, we can teach them, children, how to use it, just like we would teach them any other skill. 

What you can teach your child: 

• Teach them not to give out personal information online, whether while chatting, on Facebook, blogging, commenting on posts, etc. Never tell anyone their passwords except their parents. 

• Never open emails from someone they don't know or from someone they know is a bully. If someone sends a threatening message, don't respond. Save it and show it to an adult. 

• Teach your child how you can block unwanted persons and update privacy settings on accounts. Teach them not to accept friend requests from people they do not know. 

• Teach them not to post or share anything online that they would not want someone else to see. 

• Teach them to be polite in person as well as online. They can help others who are bullied online by not joining in. If they are upset or angry with someone, tell them to avoid sending messages, but ask themselves how they would feel if they had received the message. 

What you can do as a parent: 

• Set up your home computer in a common area of your house. 

• You could monitor them while they are setting up accounts. Make sure that they don't include any personal information in their online profiles. Go to the settings page of their accounts and manage privacy settings. Generally, default settings are public, which means anyone can view this. Change settings that allow you to decide who will be able to view their information. 

• Be especially careful about the photographs shared. 

• Get to know their friends. Talk to your child about who their friends are and how your children know him or her. 

• Establish rules about your access to your children’s cell phones and social networking sites. Make decisions about passwords, if you will check the accounts, and how inappropriate information will be handled. Decide if there will be limits on access to using technology such as no computer or texting after 9 p.m., during mealtimes, or until homework is done. 

• Set and obey the age limits for creating accounts on various sites. Do read our article on “Are our children overusing electronic media” for more information on this. 

Read “Cyberbullying and Your Child” to understand more about this issue. You can also speak to one of our counsellors if you have some concerns regarding this. 

If you would like to discuss this further or need some help or support in this or any other area, our counsellors would be happy to help. 

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