Cyberbullying is becoming a growing concern for every parent these days. Because of technology, easy access to the internet, and social media apps, cyberbullying has become widespread. It is much easier to stay anonymous and be able to bully someone over the internet.

Gone are the days when your kids used to come home from school and complain about being bullied in the school classroom, backyard, or playground. Bullying is not only restricted to educational institutes. In fact, it is very much present on social media platforms.

Any person can hide his identity and bully an innocent kid on the internet. They can send them mean, hurtful, embarrassing, and threatening messages through private chats and also leave offensive comments under their social media posts.

For years, bullying has been deeply rooted in our society, affecting our kids’ mental health more than ever. To protect kids from the dangers of cyberbullying, most parents consider installing the best hidden spy apps for Android or iPhone so that they can monitor all their social media and internet activity.

Monitoring and spy apps help parents scan all the conversations kids are having with others. This way they can easily come across messages where their kids are bullying others or being bullied by others. As soon as parents detect cyberbullying, they can intervene in the situation and help their kids.

It can become difficult to protect your kid from cyberbullying if you do not understand what’s happening with them or what sort of activities they are engaged in. No matter how difficult a situation might be, kids need to go to their parents to tell them when something seems wrong. Unfortunately, parents come to know about cyberbullying because kids often hide such incidents from them for fear of getting into more trouble.

Below, we have discussed some helpful tips for parents to stop cyberbullying and protect their kids.

Keep the Computer/Laptop in an Open Area of the House

You must always keep your kid’s computer or laptop in an open area of the house so you can keep an eye on their screen. By keeping the device in a common area of the house, you can easily be around them all the time and see what they are doing on the internet. It is much easier to detect cyberbullying if your kid is using the internet in front of you. This helps you monitor their online usage. Never allow them to use their personal devices in their bedrooms.

Become Familiar with Social Media Apps

As a parent, you should become familiar with all the social media apps your kids are using. You must know how those apps work, what privacy features they offer, and how your kids can stay safe on those platforms. You should also take a look at your kids’ profile pages, see what privacy settings they have enabled, and help them discover more security settings. By doing this, you can protect your kids from cyberbullying.

Educate Your Kids About Online Dangers

It is important to talk to your kids and educate them about various online dangers. Your kids must know about online dangers that are lurking on the internet. One of the biggest online threats is cyberbullying and it is becoming prevalent on the internet. Your kid must know everything about cyberbullying; they must know the signs of cyberbullying, how to identify it, and how to protect themselves from this problem. Once they know all about cyberbullying and other online dangers, they can keep themselves safe.

Set Rules for Your Kids

You must set rules for internet use and online safety for your kids. You should also set time limits for them and explain your reasons for doing so. Once your kids are aware of the time limits and internet usage rules, they won’t spend much time on their devices and won’t get addicted to them. You can also ask your kids to contribute towards creating new internet and smartphone rules so they can be more inclined to follow them.

Refrain from Responding to Any Cyberbullying Threats

Cyberbullying is when bullies leave threatening and embarrassing messages or comments on your kid’s profiles. You must ask your kids to refrain from responding to such cyberbullying comments or threats. Ignoring such comments is the best strategy that they can adopt. However, they must not delete any of those messages. Instead of deleting them, they must keep a record of them by taking screenshots and keeping them safe. These screenshots can become good evidence against the bully if you need to file a report against them in the future. These messages will help to verify and prove that someone tried to cyberbully your kid.

Install Monitoring/Parental Control Apps

Another best way to prevent cyberbullying is to install an effective and professional monitoring or parental control app on your kid’s device. With the help of a monitoring app, you can monitor all your kid’s activity taking place on their device including their social media activity, instant chats, emails, and text messages. iPhone or Android spy apps can be installed on your kid’s smartphone to monitor all their messages and see if there are any signs of cyberbullying in them.

Do Not Blame Your Kids

You do not need to overreact by blaming your kids for cyberbullying. If your kid is being bullied, you should support them and be understanding. You need to figure out how long your kid is being bullied and make them understand that you will work with them to find a solution. You need to make your kid understand that they are not to be blamed for being bullied by someone online. Understand your kid’s situation and be supportive towards them.

Talk to the School Authorities

If you think the bully is someone from your kid’s class, then you must talk to the school authorities and inform them about the situation. That way the school management can keep an eye out for bullying during school hours.

Report Cyberbullying

If the bully threatens your kid to physically harm them or if you feel the situation has escalated, then you need to report cyberbullying to the law enforcement agencies. You need to report cyberbullying incidents immediately to protect your kid from any unwanted harm.