My Kid Is Bullied In School, What Should I Do? You wreak havoc! NOBODY TOUCHES MY KID! Seriously though, the first thing you need to do is to stay calm.

Also must read: Fun Time with Kinder Joy

STAY CALM. Your kid is experiencing a lot of emotions due to bullying, the least you can do is add up to this. And kids tend to become silent when they see their parents reacting overly. It is not that they are afraid of you, they just love you so much that they don’t want to displease you. Kids will always be your fan and will always want to make you happy and not sad or mad.

Be calm and ask a few questions. Ask for details but do not pressure your kid. DO NOT SHOUT. DO NOT OVERACT.  Assure your kid, ask them what they want to do. Never commit the mistake of blaming your kid. Assure them that you are with them and you support them whatever they want to do.

My Kid Is Bullied In School, What Should I Do?

REPORT THE INCIDENT. Report the incident to the adviser of your kid. You can go to school and talk to them in person or you can write them a letter. You can also write a letter to the principal or to the prefect of discipline.

I prefer writing straight to the prefect of discipline specially when the incident is serious like physical injury. My intention is not to bypass the teacher but I just want to speed up the process.

How to write an incident report? Here’s a sample letter of complaint bullying at school:

If you don’t want a meeting with the parents of the child, here’s another sample letter of complaint bullying at school asking just for the report:

TALK TO YOUR KID. Ask your kid how the investigation went. Ask your kid how it feels, is he/she OK with the way the investigation was conducted. Does she/he feel safer now? Also encourage your kid to speak when this happens again. Tell her/him that she can always count on you.

FOLLOW UP THE SCHOOL. If the school is really doing their job, you will get a feedback within the day. If  you did not get a feedback within the day, follow-up the following day. Bullying is a very serious matter and if the school has an anti bullying policy, the matter should be their top priority.

My Kid Is Bullied In School, What Should I Do? Some bullying scenarios that is worth mentioning:

What if the parents of the child does not want to talk to you? Ask for a report from the school that you requested a meeting with the parents but the parents refused.

What if the teacher is the one bullying the student? You write a letter addressed to the principal and you hand it personally.

What if bullying happens inside the school bus? Write a letter to prefect of discipline or guidance councilor and clearly describe what happened.

If your child is bullied, let the school handle the situation and always stay calm.

It really is quite challenging to be up to date with my kids’ online activities. Our only requirement for allowing them to use a device is they share their passwords with us. Now that I have a son who’ll be a teen ager in just a few months, I know the password requirement will soon be questioned. So I guess the only way to be up to date with his technology and online activities is to know what’s in and out with teen’s technology. And Snapchat is one of those!

Here’s a guest post from Hilary Smith* about the Ins and Outs of Snapchat and 5 Ways To Encourage Teen Safety On Snapchat

The Ins And Outs Of Snapchat

Snapchat is a popular disappearing messaging app that was developed in 2011. It allows users to send short messages or images to others, but after the receiver views the message after a certain amount of time has elapsed Snapchat automatically deletes the message. The fleeting qualities of this app have made Snapchat one of the fastest growing social media platforms.

Teens and adults embrace the freedom and authentic communication Snapchat offers users. The ephemeral messages trim the amount of data left in a person’s digital footprint making it a great alternative to traditional social media that relies on walls, profiles, and messaging. As an added bonus, it allows users a broad range of self expression without fear that everyone will be able to see every post a person makes.

Recently, Snapchat has created “stories” which are basically homepages for users to post Snapchats with other users. According to the site, “stories are compilations of Snaps that create a narrative … Snaps appear in chronological order with a beginning, middle, and end.” While this makes it easier to share posts, after twenty-four hours the Snaps still disappear from a “story”.

Disappearing Messages And Teens

Typically, children using Snapchat are only sending funny pictures or silly selfies that are entertaining to a certain friend or group of peers. Unfortunately, this popular app is quickly becoming notorious for sexting and cyberbullying among our kids. The promise of fleeting messages can encourage teens to behave in cruel or risky ways that they normally wouldn’t even consider in a face-to-face situation.

It’s easy to put our blinders on and say this won’t happen to our children, but current statistics are stark reminders of how prevalent negative behaviors online really are. Here is a quick rundown of some shocking statistics:

• Sexting is now seen as a normal part of teen development. Experts liken this behavior to “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours” for the digital age.
• Cyberbullying rates have tripled and now it is widely believed that 87 percent of our children will come across bullying on social media or text messaging.
• 25 percent of Snapchat users regularly send “sensitive content” that includes sexting or bullying.

Children often fail to recognize that there is no guarantee of secrecy. Even though Snapchat boasts about disappearing messages, other users can secretly screenshot or take a picture of the message before it disappears. This copy can then be shared with others or kept as blackmail for later use. So what started out as a fun way to communicate with peers, can backfire and open a child up to lifelong consequences for a hastily made poor decision.

5 Ways To Encourage Teen Safety On Snapchat

Unfortunately, there is no promise or guarantee that our children will never encounter a dangerous situation on social media sites like Snapchat. We need to challenge ourselves to help our kids learn the necessary life skills needed to avoid common potholes lurking on Snapchat.

Listed below are five tips to encourage our sons and daughters to use Snapchat safely:

1. Teach children about social media etiquette and frequently discuss this topic as a family.
2. Make sure a child knows it is alright to deny a request for sexting or to ignore hurtful comments.
3. Stress the importance of seeking help from an adult if they witness cyberbullying.
4. Keep digital devices in public living areas to reduce the temptation to take part in questionable activities.
5. Encourage kids to only friend people they actually know online and be leary of friend requests from strangers.

What other ways do you use to keep your teens safe on Snapchat and other social media sites? I want to hear your suggestions and tips.

*Born and raised in Austin, TX, Hilary Smith is a free-lance journalist whose love of gadgets, technology and business has no bounds. After becoming a parent she now enjoys writing about family and parenting related topics.