Save, print, block, delete
Say you have taken all measures to protect your kid - enabling parental controls, talking, explaining - and he or she still becomes the target of a cyber-bullying attack. What do you do?
According to Goldman, the first step is simple but crucial. "Save, print, block and delete."
"Without evidence," Goldman explains, "there's almost nothing you can do to obtain relief. What you need to do immediately is print out and take a screen shot of what's happening before you delete it and block the person so that you'll have evidence. Then, if more and more people keep coming back and attacking you, then you're in a position where you can say, yes, you are being cyberbullied."
The second thing you want to do is to get your child offline. Like watching a train wreck, tt can be very tempting to sit and stare at whatever has been written about yourself, and that can be even more psychologically harmful.
"Get it off your wall," Goldman reiterates. "Don't leave a situation where people can keep coming back to your wall and putitng new things there for everyone to see."
Another crucial point is not to let your child reply to cyber attacks. As hard as it may be to hear your child being called names, replying will weaken any case they have. It's a vicious circle.
Finally, Wierzbicki reminds parents that though you may have perspective on these things, your child does not.
"Often, a common reaction (from an adult perspective) to bullying is to say 'it gets better' or 'it happens to everyone' or 'it's a part of growing up,'" she says. " Underestimating the psychological effects of severe bullying can be a mistake. If a kid feels that they're [sic] are not legitimate or that they will be dismissed they will be reluctant to come forward with their problems."