The internet is a wonderful thing and the benefits truly outweigh any negatives, but there is always a dark side to anything and the internet is no exception.
Our children are most at risk from this dark side as they are far less likely to be prepared to cope with situations online which could potentially harm them. Apart from the risk of children being groomed or befriended by people who would want to harm them physically there is another much more common and perhaps much more subtle danger online, cyber bullying.
With the popularity of social networks our children are now being faced with bullies online, who are prepared to say anything to embarrass, anger and frightened for fun. Whereas traditional bullying would perhaps be on a one to one basis and only during school hours, cyber bullying can be witnesses by the recipients friends too and at all times of the day or night, potentially making it far more harmful to the individual.
The daily stress of being bullied online can be hidden from parents and can build up to level which can start to affect the child's physical and mental health, sometimes even causing suicide attempts.
So what can be done to protect our children from the cyber bully?
1. Parents need to monitor what their children are viewing online. This should be done in agreement with the child by explaining why you need to do this and that it is for their own safety. There are various ways you can monitor your child's Internet usage, you can either look at the history logs on the computer or you can become a friend within your child's social network group, that way you will see what is being said. Monitoring needs to be done in a unobtrusive a way as possible, after all you don't want to intrude on your child's freedoms, but you need to make sure that they are not being abused or bullied too.
2. Encourage your children to talk to you about their problems, let them know that it is OK for them to tell you if they are being bullied or if they are unsure of something online. Let them know that they will not be in any trouble and that you will be supportive and help them with any issues without becoming angry.
3. Spending time with your child online together is a good way to teach them about how they should behave online and what and is not acceptable. Show by example and pass on internet security practices such as not giving too many details about themselves online like their age, address, telephone number etc.
I am a trained stress advisor (RCN accredited and CPD certificated). I currently run my business from home and have a supporting website http://www.stress-relief-workshop.com
