Kidshield Guide to Cyber Bullying

Anti-bullying charities have warned there has been a sharp increase in the number of children being harassed via mobile phones and the internet.

Recently published research has found that 15% of children and young people in the UK have received abusive or aggressive SMS messages or emails, and that there has been a year on year increase in the number of children who are being bullied using new technologies.  (Noret, 2007)

Latest reports from Childline state that 33% of contact related to mobile phone related bullying, and 16% to bullying online.

Signs of Bullying

Normally an adult will notice changes in a child or young person that may indicate bullying, but they can often be hard to separate from other possible reasons.  Most kids won't even tell their parents about a bullying incident because they're afraid it will make everything worse.  Look out for the changes that may indicate your child is being bullied, either online or offline:

• be frightened of walking to and from school
• change their usual route
• beg you to drive them to school
• be unwilling to go to school
• feel ill in the mornings
• begin playing truant
• begin doing poorly in their school work
• become withdrawn, start stammering, lack confidence
• become distressed and anxious, stop eating
• attempt or threaten suicide
• cry themselves to sleep, have nightmares
• have their possessions go missing
• refuse to talk about what's wrong
• begin to bully other children, siblings
• become aggressive and unreasonable
• avoiding friends
• hesitation to use their computer
• give improbable excuses for any of the above

  Who are your kids chatting to online?

Parental Control Software

Our top pick amongst the 25 tested by Kidshield  was Net Nanny which performed head and shoulders above other parental control software.  Net Nanny is more than an internet filter, it is peace of mind:

• easy to install

• easy to manage

• provides monitoring of Instant Messaging and Peer-to-Peer Networking and lots more

• costs less than an X-Box or PS2 game

• Did everything we asked and more!

You can purchase Net Nanny directly from the Kidshield Store

What Can Parents Do?

Be aware - get involved!  Parent and schools must address Cyber Bullying, as much as they must address face to face bullying. Schools can be effective in partnering with parents to stop and solve Cyber Bullying problems.  The newly formed Department Of Children, Schools & Families in the UK is working closely with phone operators and internet providers to tackle what is being dubbed "cyber bullying".  School guidelines were issued by the UK Government in 2006 including mandatory anti-bullying policies with clear rules on the use of mobiles and strategies to deal with children who use them to bully others.

Parents may be tempted to tell their kids to toughen up, yet cyber bullying can harm a child easily and have a long lasting effect. Millions of cyber accomplices can help target or humiliate your child. That emotional pain is very serious and very real - do not ignore it!

The key to tackling any sort of bullying is to bring it out into the open.  Ensure that your child knows that they have your 100% support and together you can tackle the problem. 

If the bully is at school arrange a meeting with the school principle to discuss the method for dealing with the problem.  If you are not happy with the outcome then contact your local education authority as soon as possible.  Remember the UK Government has issued mandatory anti-bullying policies which schools must adhere to.

If the bully is online then contact the website owner or their Internet Service Providers (ISPs).  Most ISPs have an  Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) that define privileges and guidelines for users and the actions that can be taken for violated guidelines. Educating kids about the consequences helps - especially if they know they could lose their ISP and IM accounts.  ISPs and cell phone service providers can help clients track down the appropriate service provider in response to Cyber Bullying.

We must insist on NO TOLERANCE of any bullying - whether it's face to face or through technology.

Kidshield Educational Tools

 Kidshield believe that the key to ensuring that our children are safe is to firstly educate our adults.  That means that our educational system and parents need to work together to ensure that personal safety education is a top priority.  Parents and guardians are, in most cases, in a privileged position to guide children in the use of safety features that can help them to manage their online communication.

Kidshield have developed a range of educational tools designed to empower adults with the practical skills needed to communicate personal and online safety to young children and teens. We believe that teaching children about safety is best achieved if it is done in a way that is fun and not scary, children are more likely to become anxious or resistant if personal safety messages are delivered in the wrong manner. Read more

Join our community at the Kidshield Forum, we want to hear your views