Our school resource officers are on the front lines of keeping our next generation of leaders safe.
A large part of an SRO’s responsibility is to make sure students stay and feel safe when they set foot on school property. They hear and see so many things in their daily duties.
Cyberbullying is one of those issues that seems to be an underlying issue in more than a few school squabbles. But quite a bit of cyberbullying takes place at home. That’s why it’s important for parents to know about the issue and get involved in preventing it.
You can start by talking to children about the issue and teaching them the rules below to help stop cyberbullying from happening to them or someone they know.
- Never give out personal information online, whether in instant message profiles, chat rooms, blogs or personal websites.
- Never tell anyone but your parents your password, even friends.
- If someone sends a mean or threatening message, don’t respond. Make a screen shot and show it to an adult.
- Never open emails or private messages from someone you don’t know or from someone you know is a bully.
- Don’t put anything online you wouldn’t want your classmates to see, even in email, private messages or texts.
- Don’t send or text anything when you’re angry. Before clicking “send,” ask yourself how you would feel if you received the message.
- Help others who are bullied online by not joining in. Showing those bullying messages to an adult.
- Always be as polite online as you are in person.
In my next blog entry, I’ll cover some actions parents can take to protect their children from cyberbullying.