Apparently I know a good amount of people that have just recently been affected by bullying/suicide. I was trying to think of why its so different now from when I was young. The only real factor I could think of is the Internet and attitudes towards parenting. I notice many parents today that are overly concerned with whether or not their children like them. I won’t spend much time on this because we’ve all seen it here and there, I’ll simply say that my belief is that if my kids like me as a teenager then I’m not doing my job. In the past, if you were bullied it would only seem like a couple kids against you. I think it was probably harder to be overwhelmed the way kids are now. Also, you had time if you heard a rumor was spreading to stop it before it spread too far. Nowadays with the Internet a rumor can be started and immediately shared with everyone and the only chance you have to defend yourself is after the rumor has already circulated. I also have friends and family members who have no idea what their kid is doing on the Internet. Luckily, Im in IT and will have protections and monitors on my kids Internet use at home. Sure, they can go to a friend’s house to go under the radar, but their primary Internet use at home will be watched. Ive seen posts from underage family members and family friends that are completely inappropriate and their parents have no clue. PARENTS, if youre going to allow your child to be online, make sure you know their passwords and routinely go through their accounts and emails to make sure theyre being safe. To those parents that would say their child deserves privacy; I would say that they arent old enough and mature enough yet to handle the barrage of public opinion of strangers and friends to be safe alone. Monitor your child’s Internet usage, email accounts, smart phones, and any other medium used to communicate. Do not allow applications like SnapChat or any other application specifically designed to conceal communications. If it’s not something they would want their parents to know about, they shouldn’t be doing it. I constantly see parents wanting more protections for children on the lnternet. Protecting your own child is your responsibility not someone else’s. Parents, make a commitment today to be an interfering parent, to impose on your children’s wishes, and to choose being a parent over being their friend. - It may save their life.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 12:13:47 +0000
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