5 Back To School Cyberbully Tips

With the start of school rapidly approaching, parents have a lot on their mind. And with the proliferation of cell phones and tablets at school students and their parents are facing bullying and cyberbullying like never before. Here are five ways to prevent cyberbullying in the back-to-school time of year.

1. Know what's on the phone

Knowing what apps are on your child's phone is key to preventing cyberbullying.

 Ask questions about how the apps are used and what they are used for.

If you don't know what an icon is, ask your kids to tell you about it. 

2. Be the parent – not the friend

School is a tough time for some kids and guidance is the primary role of the parent.  Parents must set some parameters.  

Not their buddy, not their friend, not their pal, just their parent,

We hold their hand crossing the street, make sure they brush their teeth and now we have to see who is talking to them on the internet.

3. Teach empathy

Empathy is walking is someone's shoes.  WE need to teach kids about how much bullying hurts.  Especially the anonymous kind on the internet.

Teaching your child to be empathetic will allow them to walk in that person's shoes and feel their pain if they are being bullied.

4. Encourage social activities

Anything connected to the internet is a big part of the cyberbullying problems,  Laptops, Ipads, xbox and cell phones all connect us.

Many kids who are seen as loners and seem isolated tend to apear vulnerable and are targets to be picked on. Get your kids involved with clubs, groups or sports teams to make sure they have a strong social network.  They need to feel included.

If active socializing isn't for your kid, parents can work to build up the child's self-esteem and resiliency.

Loners probably want to be part of a group and need to be encouraged to build their social skills.

5. Be the role model

Children learn primarily from their parents and the adults in their life. What you do speaks louder than what you say.  Show empathy in life and point it out when you see it.

Parents can point out characters in tv shows, articles in the newspaper or even on cartoons where empathy and helping a person can be highlighted.

Get KnowBullying, the free app that can prevent bullying

Research shows that parents and caregivers who spend at least 15 minutes a day talking with their child can build the foundation for a strong relationship and help prevent bullying.

The time you spend will help boost your children’s confidence and build effective strategies for facing bullying—whether children are being bullied, engaging in bullying, or witnessing bullying.

Take a few minutes and “check in,” by asking about school, their friends, and any challenges they face. KnowBullying has simple conversation starters to begin a discussion with your child.

http://store.samhsa.gov/apps/bullying/

App Features

• Conversation Starters: Start easy, meaningful conversations with your children.
• Tips: Learn strategies to prevent bullying for ages 3—6, 7—13, and teens.
• Warning Signs: Recognize if your child is engaging in bullying, being bullied, or witnessing bullying.
• Reminders: Talk with your child when the time feels right: a quiet moment on the way to school or a game, during dinner, or relaxing outside.
• Social Media: Share successful strategies and useful advice via Facebook, Twitter, email, and text messages.
• Section for Educators: Prevent bullying in the classroom and support children who are being bullied.

Put the power to prevent bullying in your hand.

All The Latest ANTI Bully News In One Spot

Want to get all your bully news in one spot?   

           America's ANTI Bully, Mike Bogdanski has created a site to highlight all the latest information and resources about bullying and cyberbullying in one convenient location.

Click here to see how Mike captures this information to help you in your fight against bullying.

Scoopit now!

10 social networks your kids don’t want you to know about!

 Kids are hooked on social media and are always looking for the next big thing It’s not always easy to find out about them and sometimes not easy to know if they are safe or not.

So, where are your kids hanging out today?  Here are ten social networks that you probably haven't heard of, but that your kids are using and some of the pitfalls.

1. Snapchat

Snapchat, widely nicknamed "the sexting app," lets you take photos or record video and share them with friends. The gimmick is that images "self-destruct" seconds after they've been viewed.

Teens think Snapchat is a risk-free way to share revealing or illegal photos with friends, but the recipient can save messages by taking a screenshot.  Hackers and scammers have gotten very good at stealing private images off of people's private computers and smartphones.

2. Kik

This messaging app is rated 17+ in app stores, but it's become popular with tweens and teens. Because users are known only by their Kik usernames, it's supposed to offer a private way to chat.

Like Snapchat, however, Kik is associated with sexting. And because it's easy to stay anonymous on Kik, it's become a favorite weapon for cyberbullies.

3. Tumblr
Tumblr is a blogging site that lets users share text, photo, video, quotes and audio posts. The site has earned a reputation as an online hangout for creative types. It’s no surprise it’s the blogging platform of choice for teens.

Tumblr is chock-full of content that's inappropriate for kids. Tumblr does not restrict content and many sites are filled with sexual content, offensive language and violence. Tumblr blogs are public so anyone can read your kids’ blog posts.

4. Creepy
The name of this app says it all. It lets people pull geolocation data from photos to pinpoint exactly where each picture was taken. A creep could easily find out where your child lives, goes to school or hangs out from their shared photos.

5. Pheed
Pheed is billed as a creative hangout where you can express yourself with text, photos, videos, audio tracks and voice-notes. You can create live audio and video broadcasts.

Pheed's live-streaming features raise serious privacy concerns. You never know who is watching. Hackers and online predators are out there, so make sure you talk your children about what's appropriate to share and what isn't. 

6. Vine
Vine is a free "micro-video" app that lets you create short, six-second video clips and then share them on social networking sites.

Making and sharing videos with Vine is fun and most videos posted on the service are harmless. But there's still a lot of adult content - images depicting nudity, drugs and violence - floating around the service.

7. Ask.Fm
This social media site is huge with teens in Europe and it's starting to gain popularity here too. You pose questions, or answer questions made by other users. The anonymous and unmoderated site has no privacy controls. Your child could be sharing personal information with bad people. The site has been linked to cyberbullying and bullying-related teen suicide.

8. Oovoo
Oovoo is a free video chat service that works a lot like Skype and Apple's Facetime. It blocks kids 13 and under from registering, but it's easy for kids to lie about their age and set up an account. Like all video chats, there's a real danger that kids can connect online with people they don't know. 

 9. Path
Path is a newer social network that lets you share text, photos and video with up to 150 friends. It's similar to Facebook, except instead of status updates you share "moments."  Path has a location-tracking neighborhood feature, so make sure it's turned off if your kids are on the site.

10. WhatsApp
Teens love this messenger app. WhatsApp lets you send unlimited texts, videos, photos and short audio messages. Teens can chat with friends without running up the phone bill

Remember The Headline?

                                  

                                            Have The Talk With Your Children!

Not about the birds and the bees but about being online –safely!

We've come a long way since the 60s' parenting scare tactic-

 "It's 10:00 pm. Do you know where your children are?"

The reality is that you're probably very trusting of your children if they have their own computer, have the ability to post videos on YouTube,  photos of the party they attended Saturday night on Facebook or surfing almost any internet site.

While the Internet has its substantial benefits of being educational and entertaining as well as a source for any inquiry, there are also a lot of troublesome situations your children could encounter online.

Firstly, remind your children that anything they put up on the Internet is public and could have serious consequences in the near and far future, potentially costing them their dream job or an athletic sponsorship.  Future employers do google you.

More and more employers are using social media profiles as part of their decision process when hiring (sites like Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin)." These sites are definitely an easy gateway for online predators to communicate with children under a pseudonym and fabricated profile.

A serious and real online concern is cyber bullying. Children have the opportunity to anonymously embarrass or threaten a classmate on the Internet. If you find out that your child is a victim of a cyber bully,  keep a record of everything that was said, because it could be helpful when the child feels comfortable enough to speak to an adult about it.

Parents should also ensure that they "don't overreact if their children have a negative experience online (research has shown that youth often don't report being the victims of cyber bullying because they're afraid their parents will cut off their Internet access)," says Matthew Johnson, (Media Awareness Network).

This is an electronically tethered society and like it or not, it is here to stay.  We just need to be vigilant, cautious and educated about the dangers it poses.

Cyberbully Tips

Cyberbullying - Learn what you're up against

Each cyberbullying tactic involves a technological tool (a cell phone, a laptop, a video camera, or a social networking site for example). Learn how to understand, prevent, combat and transform a:

Digital Pile On: (A group that gangs up on one person through a group chat, comments and Instant Messaging)

 

Rating Website: (Using Internet polls to get bystanders to vote for their "ugliest," "fattest," "dumbest" peers);

Imposter Profile: (Creating a fake website or social networking profile to deceive people into thinking it is genuinely owned and maintained by the target);

Haters' Club: (Spreading mob mentality on websites or social networking sites to harass or persecute one person);

Sexting: (Taking or sending an explicit photo of oneself and forwarding it to friends or potential boyfriends/girlfriends);

Videojacking: (Videotaping a target without his knowledge/approval and uploading the video to a popular video-sharing websites.)