Article: CYBER-BULLIES STALKING ONLINE PLAYGROUND

[brn_gamble]

This is from April of 2004. Regardless, I found it a horrifying read! (As I think any parent might.) So I decided to share it here...

Comments

Terrible, Isn't It?

[michaelkillan]

But trust me. My kids won't be doing this CRAP to anyone else. EVER. I'm going to know what they're up to online. And I'm going to instill in them what it means to bully others.

The most meaningful thing written here. I can't get over being impressed by you and your husband Jim and your excellent parenting, Brian. That's what makes the difference, I think.

I've seen a lot of this horrible behavior in people old enough to know better. (Not just the teens described in your article.) It's shameful.

Thanks for sharing that with us.

[pharaohs_kitty]

Starting young and teaching children character values early has fallen by the wayside in our country. Teachers walk past bullying going on in the school hallways. They can't DO anything unless they're a direct witness. So that zero tolerance polioy? Only works on the ones who've escalated to violent acts. And what happens? They get suspended. Which changes nothing. They get expelled and move to another school. The bully learns nothing. The victim is still a victim. We need to start younger and teach our children how to behave as kind people. Even my own son, in the fight back against his own tormentors, exhibited some tendencies to bully. We have to find a way to teach them good behavior PRIOR to the hormones bursting into play in middle school - where the worst offenders begin. But right now, we've got an entire generation of kids growing up with few to no morals. Their philosophy is "if I don't get caught... it doesn't matter".
PeeK

[pharaohs_kitty]

Starting young and teaching children character values early has fallen by the wayside in our country. Teachers walk past bullying going on in the school hallways. They can't DO anything unless they're a direct witness. So that zero tolerance polioy? Only works on the ones who've escalated to violent acts. And what happens? They get suspended. Which changes nothing. They get expelled and move to another school. The bully learns nothing. The victim is still a victim. We need to start younger and teach our children how to behave as kind people. Even my own son, in the fight back against his own tormentors, exhibited some tendencies to bully. We have to find a way to teach them good behavior PRIOR to the hormones bursting into play in middle school - where the worst offenders begin. But right now, we've got an entire generation of kids growing up with few to no morals. Their philosophy is "if I don't get caught... it doesn't matter". I think we're in trouble.
PeeK

[thom413]

There's a book on this subject - I think it's called "Mean Girls".

You can encourage Chad and Katie to stand up for themselves and others, and make sure they understand that treating others as they want to be treated is an obligation. While you can't control what other kids do, you can sure give them the tools to handle it.

(And sometimes that consists of administering a beat-down all over the bully's face.)

Late responding

[da_rosas]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this.Holy crap, what a great entry and to think I would have missed it if I didn't go skimming some of your recent entries (damn, I hate not having the time or energy to keep up with you

[da_rosas]

Also, This is on real-life bullying, not cyber-bullying, but I think it's relevant. I remember this because I copied the color bar and put it on my own page, but I think it's worth reading and thoughtfulness about the impact of school bullying on victims.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/jupiter_lament/5955.html