Cyberbullying parents stories are painful and heartbreaking. Many parents are devastated, outraged and heartsick at the treatment their children are receiving from cyberbullies.
Some students have dropped out of school, without getting their proper education and other students turn to more drastic and dangerous means, of dealing with cyberbullying. Some parents have sad stories to share, and their stories are not the kind people read about in a fairy tale. These are actual events that they have witnessed and experienced, as being parents of children who are or were cyberbullied.
One mom tells a story of how her 13-year-old daughter took her own life. The cause of death was a cyberbullying hoax that went too far. The parents of the girl in question started an internet safety cause, to help children stay safe while they are surfing the internet.
It appears that one of the victim’s former friends had a mom that created a profile on the internet. The plan was to befriend the victim and see what things were being said about her own daughter. Somehow the communication between the victim and the former friend’s mom became hostile and out of control.
The victim suffered from low esteem and was taking medication. The family was getting ready to celebrate the victim’s 14th birthday which never came. A young man befriended the victim on one of the social network media sites and the two hit it off perfectly or so it seemed.
The boy claimed to be 16 years old, and lived in the same vicinity and was schooled from home. The relationship between the boy and the victim turned sour, insults replaced compliments and the friendship went downhill. The boy claimed he did not have a personal cell phone, and the only way to communicate was through email.
Although, the victim’s mom noticed how troubled the relationship became, the friendship, between the two teens, still continued. The victim’s mom stated she called the police and asked them for help in determining if the account was in fact, a real account, but they could not help her.
The relationship hit a really large bump in the road when the teen received a message that was very unpleasant. That message caused a noticeable ripple effect in their relationship that would lead to many tragic and disturbing events.
The message said, “I don’t know if I want to be friends with you any longer because I hear you’re not nice to your friends.” The end result is devastating. The young victim hung herself in her bedroom closet and died one day later. The victim suffered from a long history of depression. The newspaper that followed the story stated that there were sayings being posted about the teen that was cruel and nasty. Such sayings stated that the victim was a slut, and referred to her as being fat.
The frustration, the pressure, and the stress were too much for the teen to deal with. She could not understand why their friendship had suddenly taken a turn for the worse.
It was only six weeks after the young teen’s body was discovered, that new evidence came to light. Another mom learned of the page from her daughter and she informed the victim’s mom, that another mom had actually created the web page, and was monitoring the boys’ page and profile. The mom accused of cyberbullying was actually a friend of the family. When the truth came out the friendship was destroyed.
Parents are expected and encouraged to protect their children from all forms of bullying, even cyberbullying. How are parents expected to protect their children from cyberbullying parents? The unethical behaviour of the cyberbullying mom has prompted the neighbourhood to seek an ordinance that relates to internet harassment and child endangerment.
Parents who witness the pain and anguish of their children being cyberbullied want to tell the world their story. They want other parents to know exactly what they have gone through with their children. What can parents do to protect their children from cyberbullying, so they won’t have to share a lifetime of cyberbullying stories? Parents feel very annoyed and hurt when they cannot protect their children from online vicious attacks.
However, there are some steps parents can take to ensure that their children are safe while they are surfing the internet. One method is to monitor their children’s online time. It is important for parents to know what their children are doing while they are online. This includes limiting or restricting their visits to certain online websites and chat rooms. Children are very vulnerable when they are online; they tend to let their guard down and reveal information about themselves that they probably should not.
Parents’ job is to prevent their children from being attacked while they are online. Parents cannot always be there to watch their children’s behaviour on the internet. Children go into chat rooms unsupervised and into other areas of the internet, without their parents’ permission. Hundreds of parents have similar stories about their children’s experiences of being cyberbullied. Cyberbullying does not just happen in one country, it happens in many countries all over the world.
Cyberbullying Parents Stories in the UK
According to a news report in Scotland, a 17-year-old teen threw himself off a bridge, after falling for a scam online. The scammer used Skype to blackmail the youth. The girl is said to be from the United States and claimed that she was recording their conservations. The girl apparently told the teen that unless she paid him, she would share their private conservations with strangers, family and friends, and his life would be worth nothing. The parents of the youth asked that his name not be released.
In another part of the country, a 14-year-old girl hanged herself, after being victimized on social network media. The authorities warned parents about being aware of online dangers, from familiar and unfamiliar websites. Parents should take their child’s safety seriously.
Apparently, a 13-year-old boy took his life, after being victimized on the internet. Parents say they cannot warn their children enough about the dangers of using the internet. The danger did not come from a potential or unfamiliar online predator, it came from the community. The father stated it was his son’s playmates and school friends that turned on him. They harassed him, embarrassed him and made fun of him. According to the teen’s father, the boy did not leave a suicide note, and he did not show any signs of being depressed.
The boy’s father stated that his son struggled with gross and fine motor skills and language development. The boy’s father stated that the children started bullying his son when he passed the fifth grade. According to the victim’s father, his son’s friends made fun of his athletic abilities as well as his academic problems.
The victim’s father did not notice any physical markings or bruising on his son, which would indicate he was being physically abused. The boy’s parents stated, that they advised their son not to take stock of what the other children were saying, but apparently, he did. The parents said they thought everything was going fine until they arrived home only to find their son in the kitchen with his head lying on the table.
This is when their son expressed his hatred for his school. He stated he never wanted to go back and asked his parents to homeschool him instead. A little time went by and the victim’s father thought his son was adjusting or that the situation was getting better. The fact that the victim left no suicide note had the parents puzzled.
With the help of other children, they were able to piece together a likeable scenario of why their son took his own life. The boy begged the parents not to talk to school officials because the situation will only get worse, and for the victim it did. The victim told his parents that another mom had complained to the school, and the school did not intervene, and problems for the youth only worsen.
The victim’s father wanted his son to stand up to his bullies, so he enrolled his son in Karate classes. Things at school cooled down for months, and the victim began to confide in his friends. He told of an incident that happened to him, following a doctor’s appointment. The friend took this information and turned it into an ugly lie, which would suggest that the victim was gay. The student put this information on the internet. The victim tried to clear his name and save his reputation, by asking a popular girl at school out on a date. To the victim, this would prove he was not gay.
The victim knows that the girl had no interest in being his friend or girlfriend. She was taking all of their personal online chats and posting them online for everyone to see. The girl had been a long time friend of the victim, but now she wasn’t. The girl confronted the victim and literally destroyed his character, his ego, and his self-confidence. The girl the victim was not interested in him, because he was a loser. According to other students, the teen (victim) told the girl, that it was girls like her who make him want to kill himself. This was the same day the teen took his life.
The parents were able to find out what happened to their son and read all the online chats. The chat service their son was using did not delete chat sessions, and every one of the teen’s chat sessions was saved. The parents said they were heartbroken to learn of all the pain and anguish their son had gone through. Apparently, the teen reconnected with an old classmate and was telling him about his incident at school. He suggested to his friend, that he was thinking about suicide. One would think that a friend would at least give another friend so encouraging advice, but this friend did not.
When the teen talked about suicide the friend said, “It is about time.” It is sad for parents to witness their child’s demise right before their eyes, and not be able to help them. The teen showed no signs of depression and therefore the parents were clueless, as to what was happening with their son. Through this tragic event, there have been laws passed to help kids and for adults to notice the signs of depression in kids. The father has lobbied for laws and they have been passed.
Cyberbullying is a growing concern for parents all over the world. Children are being mentally tormented and abused online, in chat rooms, and by their peers. Rumours are being circulated on the internet and posted to various social media networks. Parents are pulling together to try and stop all forms of bullying, and particularly cyberbullying. Too many children are losing their life to cyberbullying on the internet. Parents do not always know what is happening, nor do they know what pain their child is in on a day to day basis.
The internet is a great place to find resources and to keep in touch with the outside world. It is also a place of pain, anguish, deceit, lies, manipulation and pretence. Parents can help their children by restricting their use to chat rooms; monitor their online activities with friends and peers. When it comes to protecting the lives of children privacy is out the window.
It is through private acts online that the predators have an opportunity to destroy their victim, or at least get inside their victim’s head. Parents should let children know how special they are and really listen to all of their complaints.
Often times it is not what children say that parents should believe, it is what they do not say. This in itself is a red flag. Parents can protect their children from the dangers of the internet, they just have to be very persistent about not letting their children make all the decisions about which websites they want to visit, and by all means, please monitor their online conservations. Children may consider this to be spying, but parents can look at this move as, saving their child’s life.
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