The latest research on cyberbullying suggests that 1 in 10 children are bullied through electronic media such as cell phone text messages, My Space and Facebook postings.  Girls are more likely to be victims than boys. Parents will be surprised to learn how young children began to engage in cyber bullying activities. In addition, children often don’t understand that talking about someone on the Internet is equivalent to making an announcement in public about that person.

In Spotsylvania County Schools, bullying, whether it is conducted face-to-face or online is not tolerated. Bullying appears in the school division’s code of conduct and parents are encouraged to review the code of conduct with their children with special attention to this growing trend.  Much of the cyber bullying incidences take place on home networks, but can impact relationships and social-emotional growth and academic success in school. 

Spotsylvania County Schools’ counselors have special knowledge and resources to deal with bullying in our school division. Counselors are part of the parent outreach to promote  Internet Literacy curriculum and are a valuable resource to parents in learning how to talk to your children about all aspects of cyberbullying.