Advise your child to let you know immediately if he is bullied online.
Ask him to show you what he does on the Internet.
Encourage him to save any threatening messages he received, so they can be used as evidence of him being victimized.
Save any threatening messages in a special folder on your computer and back them up in case your computer crashes.
If your child continues to be threatened or bullied while online, notify the police and show them the evidence you’ve collected.
Gang Bullying
Gang bullying is very common in today’s society. This occurs when a group of people bully a single person. This is much more frightening than being bullied by someone. A child may feel he can defend himself against one person, but loses hope when he is outnumbered.
What Constitutes Gang Bullying?
Gang bullying occurs when a group of people, children or adults, do the following:
Won’t let a child pass.
Threatens to harm their victim.
Becomes physical in any way that inflicts pain on their victim, such as hitting, shoving, pinching and hair pulling.
When a number of people demand money of their victim.
When they steal or destroy personal property of the victim.
When they spread rumors or lies about their victim in hopes of ostracizing him.
The infliction of any type of emotional or psychological pain.
When the victim is forced to do something he knows is wrong or that he doesn’t want to do.
Take Action
Encourage your child to do the following if he is being bullied:
Tell an adult that he feels he can trust; a parent, teacher, the school principal or counselor or another person of authority. Even a school volunteer will help.
Advise him to walk with a group of friends so he will feel safe and have witnesses to any incidents of bullying.
Ask a parent, grandparent, guardian or caregiver to walk with him.
If he feels threatened and there is no adult around to assist him, he should seek a safe place and call 911 or another emergency number to get the police involved.