If you want your child/teen to come to you when they have a problem, it is important to remain calm and not overreact. Many children are not telling their parents when they have been harassed online. This is often because they are afraid of losing cell phone, computer or internet privileges, being punished and/or being blamed for the occurrence. Most often children don't tell their parents because they do not realize how serious the situation is until it is too late. Encourage your child to come to you. Try these ideas for responding:
Take a deep breath and listen to your child.
Praise them for coming to you!
Decide together how you will handle the situation. You could:
Report spam or cyber-bullying to your internet or cell phone provider. Or contact your child's social networking or online gaming administrator.
Go through your child's buddy list with them to make sure you know each person
Review your internet safety agreement to see if you need to add anything
Call the police
SCENARIOS TO PRACTICE RESPONDING
Your nine-year-old child shares with you that while spending the night at a friend's house, their friend's older sister helped them each create their own MySpace profile. Your child says, "I can't wait to show you!"
What are some of your immediate concerns?
What will you say to your child?
What additional actions will you take?
As you walk past your child at the computer one evening, you notice that he quickly closes the window that he was using.
What are some of your immediate concerns?
What will you say to your child?
What additional actions will you take?
Your twelve-year-old tells you that an online friend has asked for her phone number and would like to meet in person.
What are some of your immediate concerns?
What will you say to your child?
What additional actions will you take?
Your thirteen-year-old daughter is receiving constant text messages and often appears upset when reading them.
