Suicide and Cyber Bullies

When you're a kid, the internet can be a seriously dangerous place.

When you're young, race, religion, age, color, sex, etc. doesn't seem to matter much. Children will pretty much get along with each other, with the occasional egotistical rage that most children display when one is playing with a toy longer that they should.

As children tend to get older, they start to notice the differences between each other. These differences start to mount as insecurities. The more "flaws" a child perceives that they have, the more insecure that they feel.

This will either produce a child that becomes more introverted and withdrawn, or a child that is extroverted and loud.

When you're feeling insecure about yourself, you tend to point out things in other people to make yourself feel superior. This is how most bullying starts.

I'd like to pose a question to the parents.

Is your child a bully? Or is your child bullied?

How do you deal with such a child? Do you encourage that behavior? What steps do you think you can take to prevent either from occurring?

If your child is a bully, you need to take a step back and examine the situation. Your child is hiding some serious insecurities to where they feel they should take it out on others.

We ALL feel pressured as a society to fit into this STANDARD that no one seems to have a complete grasp on. No one can seem to figure out what this standard is and how to achieve it.

If your child is being bullied, this presents a different set of problems. You have a child that is under the influence of what other imperfect people think.

Self esteem is not an easy thing to teach. How does one teach a child that gets so much negative influence from friends, TV, the internet, etc. ? How do you teach a child that no one is perfect when the influences around them are also reaching for the unattainable goal of perfection?

Have your child write down the things that they love about themselves and what they hate about themselves. Make them tape the good things to their wall so they can see it everyday.

As for the other list...take it to the stove, light a match, and set that bad boy on fire. Let them watch as the list turn to complete ash and smoke.

Also be careful of the things you let fly out of your mouth. When you're trying on clothes that don't fit, when you make negative comments about YOURSELF and the things you'd like to change. Remember that little eyes and ears are watching and listening.

Also monitor the time that your child spends on the internet and watching television. These steps could ultimately save yours or another child's life.

Not one more life lost to suicide.