|
Our children and youth
are exposed daily to media messages from television, movies, music
and the Internet. Parents play a critical role in monitoring viewing,
and helping children interpret and understand these images and messages.
Internet and cell phone
messaging systems are fast replacing telephones as the preferred
mode of communication and commerce. Unfortunately, with this change
come increased dangers from cyber bullies, predators, cyber theft,
and other criminals. The most vulnerable to these dangers are children.
National
PTA offers several tips on how parents can protect their children.
i-Safe Training Program Keeps Children Safe from the On-line Dangers
Thanks to a grant from
the U.S. Department of Justice, i-Safe America has developed an
easy to use program for use in schools across the country to educate
children and their parents about the dangers of the Internet and
how to stay safe. Available free of charge through the i-Safe web
site (www.isafe.org),
i-safe will provide schools with in-class student curricula and
presentations, parent education (Power Point) presentations, and
i-Safe CDs that can be distributed to all parents for use at home.
Cyber
Bullying Education WE ALL need!!!
by
Pat Giuliani, Georgia PTA Youth Service Chair
On
March 26, 2008, Peachford Hospital and Georgia PTA teamed up to
bring an adult education program on Cyber Bullying to Georgia parents.
There were only eight parents in the room, but the information provided
needs to be heard by all parents of children. Below are a few points
shared during the parents Cyber Bullying program.
Cyber
Bullying is using the Internet or other digital devices to send
or post negative messages, images, or video clips about others.
It is a form of emotional bullying (sometimes referred to as relational
aggression) that causes feelings of fear, isolation, and humiliation
among its targets. Research shows that traditional bullying can
seriously affect the mental and physical health of children along
with interfering with their academic work. Preliminary research
suggests that children who experience cyber bullying may have similar
experience and this may be intensified since cyber bullying can
occur 24/7.
One
of a parent's biggest challenge today is simply knowing what children
are doing while plugged into the Internet, which is often hours
at a time. In fact, sixty-two percent of online teens say that most
teens do things online that they wouldn't want their parents to
know about. A majority of parents (sixty-five percent) feel they
could do a better job supervising their children's media use.
Parents
need to discuss cyber bullying with their children as part of their
regular discussion about Internet Safety and appropriate use of
technologies. Here are some sites for you to review and look over
with your child when discussing cyber bullying:
www.cyberbullyhelp.com
, www.netsmartz.org ,
www.connectsafely.org ,
www.isafe.org
If
your child has or is being a victim of cyber bullying do not take
the Internet away from them or close down their IM. That is their
social networking site. Instead ask your child to come to you when
the bullying happens; make a copy of the message; if you are comfortable
in doing so, contact the perpetrator's parents and share your evidence
or take evidence to school counselor. Report the cyber bullying
to the police or cyber crime units in your local area if the bullying
contains, threats, intimidation or sexual exploitation. If a fake
or offensive profile targets your child on a social networking site,
report it to the site. Links can be found under the HELP sections
of many websites.
|
