As a parent, there's almost nothing as heart-wrenching as watching your child being bullied, and it can be hard to know what to do. Should you step in and stop it, or step back and let your child handle the problem instead?
Bullying used to be a face-to-face thing. But now, with texting and Facebook and Twitter, bullies can access your child anytime they turn on the phone or the computer. Child psychologist Nancy McGarrah says parents need to have bullying on their radar screen.
McGarrah says with kids as young as elementary school having their own cell phones and computers, bullying has found a new home on social media.
"Kids are, you know, texting some pretty horrible things and putting things on Facebook they don't even understand the implications (of)," said McGarrah.
She says parents are telling her that they've found threatening or cruel texts on their child's cell phone.
"They're sometimes taking those phones away and replying to the texts, saying, ‘This has to stop or I'm contacting your parents,' which I think is an appropriate thing to do," McGarrah said.
It's also a good idea to monitor your child's social media activity, and if you suspect bullying, dig deeper. Sometimes you may need to step in.
"I think if parents need to get involved beyond their own child, then it needs to be a parent-to-parent conversation, because at that point you don't want a child to be having retribution against them," she explained.
McGarrah says you also shouldn't ignore bullying behavior in your own child.
"By the time the school gets involved and you get a message form the teacher or principal or counselor that there may be a bullying problem, there probably is bullying," she said. "I would jump quickly and get help for that child."
Bullying is usually about control-- not about resolving a conflict between two people. So, most experts in this area agree that sitting both sides down to talk out their issues is not effective.
Monday, May 20 2013 11:00 AM EDT2013-05-20 15:00:34 GMT
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Monday, May 20 2013 9:52 AM EDT2013-05-20 13:52:30 GMT
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Monday, May 20 2013 9:32 AM EDT2013-05-20 13:32:48 GMT
Sure, you know that Turner Field is THE place to watch the Braves in action, but did you know you can also take a walk through baseball history while you're there?
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Monday, May 20 2013 8:25 AM EDT2013-05-20 12:25:27 GMT
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Sunday, May 19 2013 7:55 PM EDT2013-05-19 23:55:43 GMT
Throughout the month of May, Good Day Atlanta will be featuring an app each day!
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For decades, Atlantans have woken up to Tom Sullivan on their radios. But you might not know that he's also somewhat of an expert eBay seller, and he's got quite a story to tell.
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