I don't even have any school aged children but I have a sister in the 9th grade so this is something that really gets my attention. Cyber bullying is a rising problem that is getting worse and worse. I just feel the need to rant about it a little bit and maybe someone will hear me on this.
I keep hearing about kids killing themselves because of something that was posted on Facebook or Myspace or a text that was sent out to a lot of people that were not supposed to see that text. Now just so you understand, Cyber bullying is when kids are being harrased via phone, online websites, or email by other kids, not other adults. Thats cyber stalking and a whole different crime in itself. The scary thing about cyber bullying is a lot of times parents never even know about it until its too late!
Here is a good website I found about cyber bullying and ways to take action and help prevent it as well. I feel like we, as the adults really need to take action with this and start working harder to stop it! I remember being bullied in high school. It was horrible! I came home crying more than once before. But I can't even imagine having something bad or mean posted about me on Facebook for the whole world to see! Kids are posting things like "everyone hates you" and "you should die" on other kids facebook pages! This is outrageous! We need to put a stop to this!
This is just my opinion, so take it as you will, but in my opinion I don't think young teenagers should have a facebook or myspace. And I don't really see the need for young teens to have cell phones unless they are driving or are away a lot for activities and such. And if/when teens are allowed by their parents to have a facebook or cell phone, parents need to seriously monitor the activity on their phones and the internet! I'm talking having passwords!! Even if we have a great relationship with our kids, they may feel too embarrased to tell us that they are being harrassed or bullied! So we need to be the adult and make sure its not happening by checking it on our kids often! And talking to them and letting them know they don't have to be embarrased to tell us anything! We are the parents! Let's not forget that!
I think adults need to stop given their children so much cyber freedom. Allowing them access to areas you have no clue what is going on, makes no sense to me, even if it'a on a computer or phone.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why so many people can ignore protecting their children, we all hear how horrible things are.
My oldest is 13 and in 8th grade. His computer time is limited and he is not allowed to go to certain sites, including Facebook, You Tube, and MySpace. He does have a phone, for the rare occasion he is not with family, but he only has it on those occasions (we don't even have a monthly plan for it, we put minutes on it when needed).
My parents never let me do anything or go anywhere they didn't know the details to. I plan on doing the same for me kids. And yes it can be done and your child can still grow up to be a well rounded adult.
I completely agree!!
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