One of the biggest threats for pre-teens and teens on the internet is cyber bullying - repeated verbal abuse through instant messages, emails, and social networking sites. Adults can’t see or hear the abuse, so cyber bullies go unpunished and victims are left to face the threats alone. Research suggests that only one out of ten children tells their parents if they are threatened online.

Ellen Ohlenbusch, president of McGruff SafeGuard, a company that provides free software to help parents monitor and supervise their children’s activity online, has put together 10 tips for parents to keep their children safe from cyber bullying. I think these are great suggestions.

TOP 10 TIPS FOR PREVENTING CYBER BULLYING

By Ellen Ohlenbusch
1. Keep computers in an open area - not in a child’s bedroom.

2. Tell kids to keep passwords safe, private and difficult to guess - no pet names as passwords.

3. Don’t allow your child to maintain multiple accounts with alias names.

4. Teach children to respect others online, as they would in person.

5. Discuss bullying and the emotional impact it creates.

6. Discuss what content is and is not appropriate to share online.

7. Tell kids that what they post online is “out there” forever - they can’t control how other people will use their photos or information.

8. Discuss how ‘piling’ on is not appropriate. That while they may not start something, if they see cyber bullying happening, they should not contribute.

9. Set a clear standard/example for your children to follow.

10. Install a parental monitoring software that sends email alerts if cyberbullying is detected.