Children using the computer alone during the winter holidays could be at increated risk of cyber bullying. Parents and teachers can give children the tools they need to make sure their cyber interactions are healthy and constructive and they are more cyber safe.

SEATTLE, WA (MMD Newswire) December 9, 2008 -- Soon, more than 34 million U.S. children will be on winter break. As they face cold, often blustery weather, they will likely spend more time online without adult supervision, and thus be more exposed to cyber bullying. As a result, their winter break activities could adversely affect their emotional and physical health and school performance.

Children of all ages — as early as first grade — are at risk of increased exposure to cyber bullying when they are using the computer alone or without family “house rules,” said Joan Duffell, executive director of Committee for Children, a Seattle-based nonprofit that creates curricula to help children avoid violence and bullying.

“Teachers and parents can guide children in practicing positive social behavior online and help them become cyber-safe so they can avoid this threat,” she added.

“More and more children are going online to talk with friends, share pictures and have fun — just as they do at school and in other settings,” Duffell says. “We need to give children tools to help them make their cyber interactions healthy and constructive, just as we give them tools to be kind and caring in their ‘live’ interactions with others.”

Cyber bullying can range from threats, embarrassing or cruel rumors and harassment or stalking to digital photos. “It can be vicious,” Duffell said.

“Even young children can experience emotional, physical or school-related problems as a result of cyber bullying,” she added. According to a 2006 survey of 1,000 kids by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, one-sixth of all children between the ages of 6 and 11 had mean, threatening or embarrassing things said about them online. Children as young as 13 have committed suicide as a result of cyber bullying.

“When the child is alone, and young, the risks increase. That’s why it is important to help students and parents become more ‘cyber-safe,’” Duffell said. Here are some ways parents can help their children avoid cyber bullying:

• Keep the computer in a general family area — not in the child’s room — so that you can interact more naturally with your children about the messages they are reading or sending out to friends.

• Set rules about computer use, and consider password-protecting your computer so that your child won’t be using it when home alone.

• Tell your children they should NEVER Give out personal information without your permission when using email, visiting social networking sites, instant messaging, entering contests or filling out any other online form, nor should they ever tell anyone online they are alone.

• Tell children they should not respond to messages that are suggestive, belligerent, threatening or make them feel uncomfortable, nor should they click on any links that are contained in an email from people they do not know. Such links could lead to sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate Web sites.

• Talk to your children about cyber bullying, so they understand that although mean people on the Internet can hurt them through their words, they can be safer if they don't respond to mean emails or messages sent to them or their friends. Also advise them:
   o Don’t forward emails or messages that are mean or that spread rumors.
   o Don’t open emails or messages from someone they know is   gossiping or saying mean things about others.
   o Block messages from anyone who bullies online.
   o Never arrange to meet someone who is bullying them online.
   o Save or print all messages from people who bully.
   o MOST IMPORTANT: Show the messages to an adult they trust — like a parent or a teacher — and ask for help.
   o If the first adult they tell doesn’t help, they should keep telling until someone does.

Finally, Duffell emphasized, “Teach your children to treat their friends with kindness and respect, just as they would like to be treated — whether on the playground, in the neighborhood or online. Encourage your children to come to you if they encounter material or messages that make them feel uncomfortable or threatened. It’s important that they know they will not be punished or forbidden from further Internet use if they become victims.”

A nonprofit leader in the field of social and emotional learning, Committee for Children publishes Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum and three other programs that advance the social, intellectual and physical well-being of children. These evidence-based prevention programs reach 9 million children in 21 countries and 25,000 schools around the world.

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Committee for Children
568 First Avenue South, Suite 600
Seattle, WA 98104-2804
www.cfchildren.org
Contact: Dorothy Dubia, 206-348-6694 or 206-300-2933
ddubia@cfchildren.org

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