How to talk to your parents about cyberbullying

Sometimes, you want to talk to your parents about what’s going on in your life, but you don’t quite know how to start the conversation.

Here are some ideas that you might find useful:

• Be clear about what is going on. If you’re vague, your parents may not understand what you’re saying and may be less able to support you.
• Talk about how you feel about the harassment..Do you feel hurt? afraid? frustrated? annoyed? Just glad it’s over?
• Plan to talk to your parents when you can have their full attention. If they’re busy with something else, they won’t be able to listen to what you’re saying as well.
• Look for answers together. Your parents may not know how to stop the harassment or bullying either. Suggest that you look online for answers together.
• It may even be that you know more this stuff than your parents do. If that’s the case, tell them what you know about internet harassment and cyberbullying, and share web sites and other resources that you think will be helpful. This way, they’ll have a better idea of what you’re going through.

Here are some ways you might open the conversation:

• “ Mom/Dad, I want to talk to you about something that happened to me online the other day. It’s kinda hard for me to talk about... and if I tell you what happened, I don’t want you to take away my Internet privileges.. so, yeah, anyways, here’s what happened..”
• “ Mom/Dad, I got this IM the other day and it kinda freaked me out..”
• “ Mom/Dad, I need your help figuring out how to deal with something that’s being going on online...”

Sometimes, people find it easier to talk if they’ve started the conversation with an email or text. Click here if you would like to send an email to your parent or a trusted adult about Internet harassment and cyberbullying.

Remember: People care about you and what happens to you. You do not deserve to be bullied and you don’t have to deal with it on your own.