Bullies have been around since the dawn of man

Bullies have been around since the dawn of man. No matter the location or the society involved, if there are children playing together this is almost always a bully in the mix.

Although dealing with bullies has always been (and will continue be) a part of the growing up experience for children, things are changing in today's technology age. Before, kids may escape from the pain of bullies once they reach their home wherein they are safeguarded and protected from the bullies of their lives.

In these recent times, the situation is quite different. Bullies these days utilize the internet predators, cellular phones and other kinds of technology to be able to go on bullying even while youngsters are in their homes. This suggests that cyber bullies can still continue to hunt a youngster even inside their home.

A 2006 survey by i-Safe and ABC News found that 42 percent of kids have been bullied on the Internet while a whopping 58 percent said someone had something mean or hurtful about them online.

So how exactly do cyber bullies use the Internet? Below are several instances:

    * They use sites like MySpace and Facebook to post jokes, stories, pictures and other embarrassing things about their targets.
    * They use online instant messaging or cell phone text messaging to send threatening messages to their targets
    * They bully their targets by means of intimidating blogs.
    * They deliver photos via the email or as cell phone attachments.
    * They enlist their target's email address with spam or pornographic material.
    * They produce profiles, email accounts, weblogs and so on in their target's identity and mimic them in online discussion boards and forums and make an effort to harm their name.

Now that you can see how dangerous and serious cyber bullying can be, you may wonder what you as a parent can do to either prevent or respond to these attacks? Here are a couple of suggestions:

    * Converse with your children regarding cyber bullying and decide on a plan on how your family will react when your kids become targets of cyber bullies.
    * Tell your kids to inform you whenever they become victims of cyber bully.
    * Record the cyber bullying through screen captures or perhaps with a parental monitoring software similar to WebWatcher, Net Nanny or Spector Pro. Save this evidence in case you need to show it to the school, the police or the bully's parents.
    * Make certain that your youngster is aware not to take part on the bully's attacks. It is advisable to ignore that act so that the bully will most probably lose interest and leave your kid alone.