What Are Some Common Signs of Cyberbullying? How Can We Prevent Them?

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You might be hearing a lot about online bullying, but can it affect your child? It is the point of concern for most parents now. Now, with the rise of the incidents happening due to this, every other parent is worried that it might not be limited to news only. Maybe, it is happening in their homes too, without their knowledge. There is a dire need to know more about cyberbullying now.

Kids with poor social skills are more prone to this threat. They may be targeted more than the others because they can’t stand up for themselves. Maybe, there are the ones more bullied in the classrooms as well. However, every other child is open to this risk from the moment they are given smartphones. Parents can easily notice some of the common signs of cyberbullying in their children to know if they are going through something worse.

Some Common Signs of Cyberbullying

If you are too much relaxed about these issues, you must know how cyberbullying can affect your kid. Cyberbullying has a huge impact on tweens and teens’ mental and physical health. Online harassment and cyberbullying are on the rise, and these forms of threats can be more damaging than the physical ones.

However, it is not always easy to distinguish teenage issues and potential signs showing cyberbullying. But, some specific signs speak for the cyberbullying experience of the kids. You can look for such signs in your kids to make sure they are not in any sort of trouble. Some of the most specific signs of cyberbullying are:

School Avoidance

If your child is pretending to be sick or avoiding going to school at all, there is something that he is not telling you. Almost every child uses tantrums to get out of school from time to time. Sometimes it is due to upcoming exams, or results. But, if it is becoming a habit and that tantrums are getting serious, there might be something that you should be worried about. Visit his school, meet his teachers, and know his online activities to explore more.

Loss of Interest

If they have a hobby that they love a lot like painting, and they have lost their interest in it all of a sudden, take out some time to know the reason. This could be because their mind is already pre-occupied somewhere else and there is something that is bothering them all the time. Otherwise, kids usually turn to such activities as a relief, but if they are pulling themselves away, know the reason.

Mood Swings

Normal mood swings are common like they might be happy at a moment and sad at another time. But, if you are noticing some serious irritating behavior and attitude, nervousness in their actions, this might be a heads up for you. If they are giving sudden and jumpy reactions and becoming cranky all the time, ask them politely what is the reason.

Physical Changes

You must look for noticeable physical changes such as weight loss or loss of appetite. Sleep disturbance is also a visible sign of tension and stress. Such signs must not be ignored as these are not common with every teenager. So, there must be something associated with it.

Avoiding Social Media

This is a big sign for you. If all of a sudden they have stopped using social media which they used to love a lot, there is an issue for sure. Social media is like oxygen for most of the kids now. So, if they leave it abruptly, it can’t be because of no reason. Sometimes, the things that are bothering them are on social media and so they decide to take a break.

With these signs rising and their behaviors changing, it is the responsibility for the parents to look out for their kids as they are the ones who can give them the best guidance. Only parents can teach them how they can handle such situations in a better way.

Kids Often Don’t Tell Their Parents

The reason why parents need to look for the signs of cyberbullying in their kids is that often kids don’t tell their parents about what they are going through. They often feel shy and embarrassed about their situation. Maybe because they are not being given the perfect home environment to share their feelings with parents.

However, because of this shyness, things can become worse. They might know how to handle a certain situation without any guidance and they might screw that up. Because of this, they should be encouraged to share their feelings with you and trust you with everything that seems bad. Being parents, you must appreciate their loyalty and honesty, and offer them open doors.

Using A Parental Control App

There are plenty of parental control apps out there that will help you recognize many issues regarding your teens especially cyberbullying. Since cyberbullying is already happening online, you must keep yourself up-to-date too to fight this issue. There are plenty of preventions of cyberbullying but if you don’t know anything about social media, your kids won’t let you interfere in their lives neither will you be able to help them.

A parental control app helps you solve such issues. These apps teach you the right amount of smart parenting and aid you in knowing what is wrong with your kid. A good parental control app like SecureTeen will help you monitor your child’s online activities on all social media platforms. Targeting social media platforms is necessary because this is where the whole bullying starts.

Also, you can monitor their messages and call logs along with managing their screen time. You will know what is happening with your child or in what mess is he stepping into. Only when you know this, you can help them manage this. Teach them how to use their privacy settings and where to look for danger signs. They might be careless at first, but that is why you are with them all the time.