In the News: Bullying and Cyberbullying
April 8, 2010 by Kathy McManus
Phoebe Prince, a pretty 15-year-old student who had recently emigrated from Ireland to South Hadley, Massachusetts, committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied by a group of girls at her new high school.
“She was a freshman and she had a brief fling with a senior, a football player, and for this she became the target of the Mean Girls,” wrote Kevin Cullen in The Boston Globe. “They followed Phoebe around, calling her a slut. When they wanted to be more specific, they called her an Irish slut.” The harassment took place on campus and off, with cyberbullying via Facebook, cell phone, and text messages.
Shocked parents questioned why there weren’t better laws against cyberbullying. But The Globe’s Cullen shifted the responsibility back to them, saying “parents are the real untapped resource” in reducing bullying. He quoted cyberbullying expert Professor Elizabeth Englander, of Bridgewater State College, who noted that “Almost all cyberbullying by kids takes place on computers in the home. Where are the parents? They don’t know what their children are up to online, and they don’t know how to talk to them about it.”
According to Englander’s research, 25 percent of kids say they’ve been directly bullied, and 60 percent have been cyberbullied. “Englander says we need to treat bullying as a public health issue,” wrote Cullen. “We reduced teen smoking and drunken driving with massive education programs. We can do the same with bullying. But it starts at home.”
Tell us what you think: Should parents be held responsible if their child bullies another?
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5 Comments
What do you think? Leave a comment
July 1, 2010 by Henry
We as parents should know the child we are raising. If a kid was a physical bully then everyone would get envolved cyber bullying is no different. By staying engaged in our kids lives we can see how they treat others and intervene to stop the bully.
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September 20, 2010 by Elizabeth Ruiz
Right on!!!
We as parents should know the child we are raising. If a kid was a physical bully then everyone would get envolved cyber bullying is no different. By staying engaged in our kids lives we can see how they treat others and intervene to stop the bully.
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August 9, 2010 by ms. neauxneaux
PARENTS PAY ATTENTION: in my experience, i was bullied most of my life. because i was very quiet and nonresponsive people used to walk up to me on the play ground and slap me or groups would beat me up! outside the home, this happenened until i was 21, and because this was not addressed i was a bomb ready to explode. to make a long story short, i finally exploded on one of those bullies at a dance club and i got charged with assault in the 2nd degree and this behavior became a way of life for quite a long time, i was so busy doing what i considered protecting myself, if i felt threatened then hurting other people physically not only by hand but via knives or baseball bats! I am now 38 yrs old and last year i got my 4th assault, . (was the best thing that ever happened to me) i was then forced to take a domestic violence clas which showed me that i could accidently kill someone:( when that had never been my objective) I come from a fairly respected family in my community and it did not occure to them that i was being bullied and they have no idea why i was doing those things!
Parents please pay attention to your children, look outside of the norm, ask questions. PLEASE!
BTW, I have now directly all my feelings into my artworks, no more violence!
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September 16, 2010 by syble jones
I think our younger children learn so much from the older ones especially on the bus to and from school. There are not enough rules and dicipline for actions on the buses. Our kindergardners come home repeating fowl language, hitting, and downgrading other people because this is what is learned on the buses.
Just ask your children what goes own on their bus and see what they tell u.
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September 20, 2010 by Elizabeth Ruiz
I feel the parents are responsible to talk to their kids each night and cell phones are a log of your child's day if they sleep with it under their pillow and wake up to it's alarm most likely it's because they r always texting. My daughter is 12 and is very active and well disciplined in how to be in constant reach of her phone. But, I am in charge of her phone and I have never had a problem I believe children who have been allowed by their parents to text at will, need to know what and to whom their child is texting, and having an open conversation daily is key, otherwise no phone for your kid.
One text messsage could irreversibly damage another child life. This is my policy I talked about with my 12 yr old and I remind her every chance I get to be aware of your action and the actions done to you; because there is consequences :
If the bully contacts you directly on your cellphone, tell someone you trust what is happening. Your parents /siblings/friends/school councilor can probably help you find a solution that works best for you. # If you keep receiving nasty messages, take a break from your phone for a few days to see if this person will wander off. If you've sent a message you regret or has hurt someone tell someone and resolve the matter
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