It’s impossible to monitor the kids’ text messages. The best way is to inform them in advance what kind of messages are considered to be cyberbullying. While the government, schools, and communities are fighting against cyberbullying, a careless text message can be taken seriously if it causes harm to the recipient. Educate your children is the best way to prevent harm them and to others.

Parents and school counselors need to pay close attention to children who have been bullied and follow up with their growth, development, and behaviors as they grow. If this group of children are left unmonitored, they are at higher risk for developing problems such as depression and anxiety.

Many children, especially girls are being teased about their weight in school. If you notice poor body image, low self-esteem, find out why. In many cases, bullied victims experience stomach aches, and anxiety, have trouble sleeping. If you notice any of the above, talk to the child.

The best way to fight bullying is through bullying prevention. But unless we know where to look and how to prevent, there’s not much we can do. Using anonymous questionnaire to students about bullying is a good start. Ask your students to fill out a survey that will point you to the right direction.

• Findings can help motivate adults to take action against bullying;
• Data can help administrators and other educators tailor a bullying prevention strategy to the particular needs of the school; and
• Data can serve as a baseline from which administrators and other educators can measure their progress in reducing bullying.

Source: Department of Health & Human Services

Group therapy doesn’t work for bullying victim either. Individualized therapy work much better to cater each child’s needs. There’s no short cut to fix bullying behaviors quickly.

Source: Department of Health & Human Services

If the adults ignore the problem, the children who are bullied are more likely than other children to be depressed, lonely, and anxious; have low self-esteem; be absent from school; feel unwell; and think about suicide. There are long effects on these children also.

Law enforcement officers can work with school administrators to create a bullying prevention initiative. Many school administrators will not believe bullying happens in their schools. As law enforcement officers, you might need to do facts finding to convince themselves.

Source: Department of Health & Human Services

If you ever try to get the children to sit down and solve the conflicts by mediating, you are actually sending inappropriate messages to the students who are involved. So the best way to handle this is to ask the bullying children to stop immediately in front of both party. But do not show special attention to the victim. Make an appointment to speak with the bullied child later on.

You need to make the children who bully to get your attention that you will do everything to stop what they’re doing.

Source: Department of Health & Human Services

Don’t do further damage by lending too much support in public. Children are concerned about what their peer group sees and knows. It may be more helpful to lend your supportive words and gestures in private. If you see bullying happening, stop it right away.

Tell the bullies what they’re doing and it’s wrong. But don’t show excessive support to the bullied children in front of the bullies and other children. You can, arrange a private meeting with the children later on. You can let them know why you do that.

Source: Department of Health & Human Services

1. Stop the bullying immediately. Separate the children. But don’t ask the reason yet.

2. Tell the bullies that their behavior was bullying and let them know it is against school rules.

3. Make the bullied child feel supported and safe.Talk to him or her in private later on.

4. Never encourage the children to sort things out. Bullying is not a conflict.

If you see bullying happening , take action and let other adults such as teachers and counselors know.

Sometimes it’s tempting to try to prevent future bullying by focusing on how these young people should do with their own actions. However, doing so can sometimes backfire because we risk confirming their belief that the bullying was their own fault.

Source: www.ask.hrsa.gov