National [Cyber]Bullying Prevention Month
According to BullyingStatistics.org, 1 in 4 kids in the U.S. are bullied on a regular basis. While face-to-face bullying is still common at school, cyberbullying – bullying via email, text messages, social media, chat rooms, pictures, instant messaging, and videos – has become one of the most prevalent types of bullying among teens. In fact, about 80% of high school students have encountered bullying in some fashion online.
With this being National Bullying Prevention Month, AT&T is sharing tips and resources to help parents protect their children from what some are calling an epidemic.
Know Bullying (Free, Android & iOS) – Research shows that spending at least 15 minutes a day talking with your kids can build the foundation for a strong relationship, develop their resilience to peer pressure, and help prevent bullying.
The Know Bullying app provides conversation starters to talk with your child, tips about bullying for specific age groups, warning signs to watch for, access to online resources, reminders to talk with your child when the time feels right, and even a section for educators to help them prevent bullying in the classroom. The Know Bullying app is a free resource providd by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Bully Button for Parents and Kids (Free, Android & iOS) – With this free app, kids who are victims of bullying or witness it can easily record the incident and send the recording to their parents.
The app has 2 modules: one for the parent, the other for the child. The dashboard of the parent’s app will display all the bullying incidents recorded by the child. Parents can add in emergency contact information in the child’s module of the app, so the child will have quick access to help.
Red Panic Button (Free, Android & iOS) – This is a great app to download to your child’s device. If a child finds herself in an emergency situation, like bullying, she simply presses the red panic button on the app, and her current position and address, in the form of a Google Maps link, will be sent to all the numbers stored in the Red Panic Button contact list via text and email.
The child can even post in real-time a panic Tweet to her entire list of friends and followers, sharing her current address and a Google Maps link.
#LaterHaters – #LaterHaters is a campaign AT&T started to empower teens to rise above online negativity. The Later Haters campaign is focused on getting young people to use their devices to spread online love vs. engaging with haters.
The Later Haters web site also provides links to numerous resources for both parents and teens, such as a parent guide for discussing online behavior with your child and links to Facebook’s Bullying Prevention Hub, Common Sense Media, and more.
Digital You – The AT&T Digital You web site provides parents with tips to help stop cyberbullying and help your kids stay safe online. The site includes a powerful short film, titled “There’s a Soul Behind That Screen,” about online bullying that was created by high school students for a national contest.
The film combines some of the winning submissions and tells an important story for parents and educators. It’s a must-see for parents of teens.
Courtesy of AT&T.