 |
|
Potter
Even simple data can tip off a clever bad guy when online…
|
Caution Children About Cyber Bullying
by Rosemary Lee Potter, Ed.D.
Special to Tropical Breeze
As the seasons turn we often think of gift-giving and for various
reasons! However, maybe one of the main gifts we can give our young
people is a frank talk about an emerging, often scary, often dangerous
experience which may be right there at home, where people young and old
are vulnerable. This negative experience? Online chatting!
Hey! Chatting can be really fun. Right? That's what my sixth-grade
students said when I first broached the subject of cyber bullying!
"What is it?" they wanted to know.
I really hated it that it would be me giving
them this information in class. Who better, though, just in case even
one of them was unknowingly already involved in this online menace. I
know I am saying something very strong here, but, wait, your child is
right there at home, up in his/her room, safe, private. Right? How
could some simple talking with buddies online - even on the cell phone
be a threat to his/her very life?
By the time I got finished talking with the
sixth-graders in that class, they were thinking of chat rooms in a much
more somber way. Here's what I shared with them - and suggest you
discuss with your own brood who often busies itself online for hours in
relative privacy at your house or a friend's - and will more so -
during the upcoming school holidays! Isn't it so exciting? What an
adventure! He said what?
I told them of a girl who thought she was talking to a boy her age in
another state and who, inadvertently, even though using a nickname
online, revealed not only who she really was, where she lived, but what
her schedule was. The person she was talking with was actually a grown
man just pretending to be 14! No, he did not come and get her! He sure
could have. However, he was an undercover police officer trying to
educate her. He showed up at her house and, with her parents, shocked
her about how dangerous some of her chatting had really become. Even
such simple data as school colors or after-school activities can tip
off a clever bad guy!
So strong new rules, folks! That is, when young people are online!
1. Know that cyber "bullying" is a real attempt to hurt or trick someone online.
2. Do not set out to do this to anyone, but know that someone may be trying to do this to you!
3. Do what to you? Find out everything
he/she can about you and show up - maybe to hurt you, assault you,
abduct you, even kill you!
4. Don't pretend to be older than you are
ever! Or be anyone you aren't. Assume that - anyone else online may be
pretending - no, lying!
5. Under no circumstances give away personal information about you, your family, or anyone. NONE!
6. If you see or experience cyber bullying
yourself or see or hear of it in your friends' lives, tell an adult
right away! You may think you are ratting your friend out. You may be
saving their life!
7. Never put your e-mail address on the Internet.
8. Never tell anyone where you are or when you are home alone.
9. Never ever agree to meet with anyone
you meet online, no matter how nice they seem or the idea seems to be -
like meeting up at the local mall. Seems safe. It ISN'T! Nowhere is
safe to meet a stranger or someone your folks do not know!
10. Tell your friends these new life-saving rules!
Remember, in your bedroom, alone, it all seems
so safe and very exciting. Maybe so, but right there in the same room,
having sneaked in online, is maybe a dreadful predator with
unbelievable, crazy, and wicked plans!
WOW!
This is a good time to remind parents that this
cyber-bullying talk should take place NOW! Be repeated often.The
alternative - children's ignorance and naivete and the appeal of
exciting attention, makes them easy prey. We don't want to imagine the
possible consequences of failure to talk about this. Do we? Check in on
chatting, parents.
Make time for the talk. Protect happy holidays.
This parent-child talk right now will be a gift beyond measure, beyond
doubt, proving how much your family matters!
© 2006 Rosemary Lee Potter. All Rights Reserved.
Rosemary Lee Potter, Ed.D., has been a teacher
since 1960, including 21 years at Safety Harbor Middle School, and is
now a reading teacher at Carwise Middle School, Palm Harbor. Contact
her at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or by mail in care of Tropical Breeze,
P.O. Box 585, Safety Harbor, FL 34695.
|
Front Page 
Columns 
