How to Protect Your Children From Online Bullying
How to Protect Your Children From Online Bullying is a very good question and the solution lies in three simple steps. Firstly, you should teach your children to not give out their personal information on the internet. You have to be very careful about this and make sure that your kids are using their real names and not their pseudonyms. Also you should make it mandatory for them to have their passwords on their computer and they should never click on any pop-ups. It is true that not every child is good at following instructions and staying away from trouble.
But most children are good when it comes to adhering to instructions and keeping secrets to themselves. They will also have a strong sense of right and wrong. If they are taught the difference between right and wrong then there is nothing that can ruin their childhood. When they get into the realm of the internet, then you should also let them know the importance of privacy. They should know that every internet user has the right to keep his or her privacy and nobody should be able to know what they are doing on the internet.
There is a lot of research that shows that even teenagers who feel safe in their own homes can become victims of online bullies. Many of the websites have their own codes of conduct which you as a parent must ensure your children follow. This is because even though they might be under the age of 18, they are still children and should know better than to indulge in online bullying.
The first thing that you will need to do is to monitor what they are doing on the internet. This will help you know where your children are spending most of their time chatting online. Once you find that they are chatting with other children, you need to warn them about the website. Most of the time, they will ignore it. But if you persist in warning them, you will compel them to stop using the service.
In order to know more about online bullying, you can make use of internet technology. There are a lot of websites that can give you helpful information on this issue. If you do not want to spend money, you can check out the resources which are available on the internet for free. But if you want to make sure that you get authentic information, you will need to pay for it.
However, while making use of the internet, you should remember that you should not trust everyone who you meet online. Remember that you should take precautions even while meeting new people. Just because someone looks familiar does not mean that they really are. You should make a judgment before you proceed further. Never allow someone to meet with you who doesn’t have any known details about them. It is not only you who will suffer but also the person you have met online.
There are a lot of people who are into online relationships and who think it is alright to share their personal details. Children too should be taught not to share their personal details with anyone they do not know. This is very important as far as online safety is concerned. Once such a person has found out that you are aware of his online activities, he can come up with various reasons to abuse and harass you. This way, your privacy will never be safe. You should therefore ensure that you protect your child or friends from such predators.
How to protect your children from online bullying is not a very difficult question to answer. All you need to do is make sure that your kids are away from all websites that can entice them to click on any link and make unwanted purchases. Also ensure that your kids are aware of the dangers of online relationships and that you inform them about these websites.
