Cyberbullying
Email 1
Copy/Paste the following email:
Subject Line: Cyberbullying, Part One
Hello Ministry Family and Friends:
One of the ways I have been praying specifically for your child is over the issue of relationship. I pray that they find great friends and make good positive connections with others. The other prayer of my heart is on the other end of things, with the issue of bullying. As you know as parents, it is continuing to be an issue, even in the younger years.
Now in the modern age, bullying has gone digital. You have probably heard the term in books, on the news, and even online. Cyberbullying is on the rise even in the younger years. It my prayer that God would protect the mind, heart, and spirit of your child from cyberbullies as well.
This month’s Online Parenting Class is perfect for this time of year because it over that very topic- “Cyberbullying”. I am excited to be able send it along for you to watch. Please take time with me to pray and consider the 5 extremely helpful hints.
Let me know if you have any questions. Please let me know if this is an issue that you are dealing with in your home. I would love to partner with you!
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/280518297/30d53c194a
In Him,
Children’s Pastor
Email 2
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Subject Line: Cyberbullying, Part 2
Hello Parents and Families:
This month’s Online Parenting Class is all about “Cyberbullying.”
What great hints to consider! Here are couple questions & discussion starters to help you have some discussions at home with your children:
1. Talk about the Issue: “Do you know what cyberbullying is…?”
2. Help kids have healthily tech habits: “Do you think I spend too much time on my phone around the house…?”
3. Maintain access to social media accounts: “Let’s talk about social media and when we are going to allow you to have an account…”
4. Check in with your kids: “Have you ever experienced someone bullying you or saying something mean online…”?
5. If your child comes to you, take it seriously: “You know that you can always talk to me about anything, and I will listen…”
This is becoming a big issue is the lives of children and teens. Please let me know if this becomes an issue in the life of your child. I would love to help you. My door, phone, and email is always open.
Grace and Peace-
Children’s Pastor
Video Script
Cyberbullying
There’s nothing worse than finding out that your child is being bullied. You may see it happen with your kid’s sports team, hear about it from a teacher, or have your child tell you about it. It’s so difficult to process as a parent. Everything in you wants to immediately make things right. You want to hunt down the bully and teach them a lesson. After you calm down, you evaluate the situation, coach your kid up, and get the right people involved. We know it’s important to help our children know how to deal with bullying.
Now there’s another kind of bullying that we are all starting to hear called cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is no different than the work of a normal bully but the harm happens behind the safety and distance of a screen. The more our children are connected to their phones and integrated into social media the greater the chance they will encounter a cyberbully. This is why it’s so important that we prepare our kids to confront the issue.
Cyberbullying is one of the biggest issues we hear these days from school counselors. Children and teens get trapped in really destructive cycles of bullying online from people they don’t even know very well. As adults, we may go ahead and block that bully or confront them but often kids and teens don’t. They listen to the attacks and internalize it. Often they hide the bullying from others because it’s by text or on social media. They think it’s not an issue and are afraid to ask for help but they need our help. Cyberbullying is as or more dangerous than bullying in a school setting because it’s done in secret.
When it comes to cyberbullying here are a few things you can do as a parent…
• Talk about the issue with your kids and teens openly. // When we talk about an issue with our kids it becomes a real issue to them. Our kids don’t know how to frame cyberbullying because it’s a rarely new problem. It’s so important we help our kids understand what it is and how to respond.
• Help kids and teens have healthy habits with technology. // It’s our job as parents to model healthy tech habits and then lead our children to have healthy habits. Teens and kids that understand how to use tech and not be used by it have a better shot of avoiding cyberbullying.
• Maintain access to social media accounts. // Until your kids graduate it’s important that you have access to social media accounts so you can see what’s going on. Take time to check in on how your child is using social media and if you notice anything odd coming from other people toward them.
• Check in with your kids about cyberbullying. // Occasionally ask your teen about the issue. Open up the door for your child to talk about other teens facing cyberbullying and ask if they experience it. You never know what you might learn when you just ask!
• If your child comes to you with an issue take it seriously. // If your child feels bullied online then take it seriously. Check it out. Listen to them. Help them form a plan on how to handle this problem.
Cyberbullying is an issue we can help our kids and teen navigate if we identify it and guide them through it.
Texts/Tweets
TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.
Tweet One: Three steps to dealing with cyberbullying in your child’s life: Evaluate the situation, Coach your kid up, & Get the right people involved. #cyberbullying #onlineparentingclass #parentministry #familymin #parenting #Iamawitness
Tweet Two: The more our children are connected to their phones and integrated into social media, the greater the chance they will encounter a cyberbully. #bullying #cyberbullying #parenting #familymin #family #nobully
Tweet Three: When we talk about an issue of cyberbullying with our kids it becomes a real issue to them. #bullyingisreal #cyberbully #parenttalk #parents #parenting #nobullying
Tweet Four: It’s our job as parents to model healthy tech habits and then lead our children to have healthy habits. #parenting #parent #healthykids #techhabits #familymin #momlife #dadlife
Tweet Five: Cyberbullying: You never know what you might learn until you just ask! #parenting #justask #mom #dad #nobullying #cyberbullying #stopbullies
Tweet Six: If your child is being bullied online: Take it seriously, Check it out. Listen. Help form a plan. #onlinebully #cyberbully #nobullying #parenting #family #stopbullying #iamawitness