Preventing cyber bullying

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) -October is 'National Bullying Prevention Month.

As students continue online schooling...it’s important to spot cyber bullying

Michelle Berger is a school counselor for Nevada Connections Academy.

She adds cyber bullying may not always be as easy to spot as physical bullying.

“One thing to look out for as a parent or trusted adult of a student is if you walk into the room and they’re quickly shrinking the screen,” said Berger. “Closing it down and making it so you can’t see the screen, that’s usually a sign that something is happening. Kids are often embarrassed to tell anyone they’ve been bullied or cyber bullied because they feel oh this shouldn’t happen to me and they don’t want to talk about it.”

Berger said to also keep a look out for behavioral changes in your child, which may include being withdrawn, anxiousness and avoiding online school.

She said the best thing parents and teachers can do is educate on what cyber bullying is and to role play scenarios.

“I find a lot of times when working with students who are target of bullying whether it be cyber or in person, they don’t know what to say,” explained Berger. “They don’t know if they’re going to get in trouble for telling someone to stop don’t talk to me like that. so if you role play with your student and they see its okay to tell someone to stop, you’re not going to get in trouble as long as they’re not becoming the bully themselves so they know what to do.”

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