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Think First, Click Later: Would you walk up to that girl at school and tell her she's ugly and nobody likes her in the middle of a crowded hallway? Then don't post it on her Facebook page. Would you want your best friend to share that picture of you when you just woke up all over MySpace just because you had an argument? Then don't do it to him.

Tell Someone: If you're being cyberbullied, it's time to call in a helping hand. Tell your parents. Tell your teacher or your school counselor. You are not alone. You have the power to stand up for yourself and make tomorrow a better day.

Speak Up: Don't feed the beast. Don't forward hurtful links, photos, videos or emails. You might think it's funny at first, but it can really hurt the person being bullied. Let cyberbullies know that they can't get away with being jerks and still be cool at school.

tipsheets

Tip Sheets for Bullying Prevention

Downloadable materials:


Tips for Parents to Address Bullying

  • Focus on your child. Be supportive, listen and gather information about the incident. Try doing an activity while talking such as; walking, baking, or riding bikes.
  • Never tell your child to ignore bullying. What your child may “hear” is that you are going to ignore it. If your child were able to simply ignore it, he or she likely would not have told you about it. Often, trying to ignore bullying allows the situation to become more serious.
  • Contact your child's teacher or principal to report bullying and to find out about the school's bullying prevention plan. Give specific details and then ask for the next steps from the school. Follow up.
  • Keep your emotions in check. Give factual information about your child's experience of being bullied, including who, what, when, where and how.
  • Help your child become more resilient. Talk to your child about being friends with certain people and knowing which friends he or she can count on. Support positive relationships by encouraging them to hang out with kids that make them feel good about themselves.

Cyber-bullying Tips for Parents

  • Ask your child questions, maintain an open dialogue.
  • Keep computer in a common room.
  • Talk about your expectations regarding acceptable online/phone behavior before they receive the privilege. Behavior online should be the same as what you would do in person or in front of someone you respect.
  • Make agreements and set boundaries about accepted use and behavior for online/ phone communication. Often youth don't tell parents because they fear losing technology privileges.
  • Help child think through how the information they put online reflects on them.
  • Inform youth about legal limits and future consequences of harmful posting online or by phone.
  • Ask your child to teach you about programs and technologies you don't understand or of which you don't have familiarity.

Tips for Youth to Stop Bullying

  • Keep yourself safe.
  • Get help. Tell a trusted adult if you see someone in trouble.
  • Support the target. Ask them to join in an activity with you (let's go___, do you want to go get a drink of water?).
  • Distract. Tell the aggressor you don't like talking about people or change the subject.
  • Reason with the aggressor, “You might get into trouble, if you keep bothering that person” or “you might get kicked off the basketball team and we really need you.”
  • Support the person who is being bullied (help them pick up their books, take them to someone who can help, there is power in numbers– just stand beside the person, or ask other friends to support the person).

Cyber-bullying Tips for Youth

  • Don't initiate, respond to, or forward harmful messages.
  • Think! If something mean is posted or texted about you, don't respond immediately, take a breath and give yourself time to think through your next step. Don't react immediately.
  • Think about your reputation– would you want your grandma, teacher, future employer, someone you don't know-to see that?
  • Privacy– Keep intimate and personal info– private.
  • Trust your gut. If you feel uncomfortable– save and tell an adult.
  • Be safe– Don't meet unknown internet friends without talking to your parents or another adult about it.
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