Parents need to be aware that Bullying has gone Hi-Tech
The presentation of the P.E.I. Home and School Federation to the P.E.I. legislature's standing committee on social development, March 9, 2006.

View the presentation (PDF - 32kb)

As we have outlined, Cyberbullying is an increasingly important concern in our society. It is not just more of the same kind of bullying that we knew as children ourselves. It is a new kind of bullying, more diverse, often more hurtful, more invasive and more lasting than traditional bullying.

Also, unlike traditional bullying, it reaches into the home, and this places a new level of responsibility on parents to protect their children. In fact, parents are the only people who can protect their children against being cyberbullied in their own home.

Some parents may hesitate to use the strategies that we have suggested because they may seem like invasions of their child's privacy. It is vital for parents to accept that they have the responsibility to protect their children against cyberbullying, and that this gives them the right to monitor their child's online activities and communications.

In addition, many parents need to develop the computer knowledge and skills to carry out the strategies we have described. It is vital to find ways to support and carry out expanded parent education sessions on computer training to "cyber-proof" their homes and their families.

We urge the Committee to recommend development of a strategy for family education in this important area. The PEIHSF would be pleased to partner with the education system, the health system, the Community Access Program system, the justice system, and parent and youth groups in this initiative.

Many employers, like the provincial government, offer different options to employees. Perhaps the provincial government should promote the options it has available to its employees. For example:

• deferred salary
• leave of absence
• temporary reduction in hours
• job sharing

This would allow parents to spend more time with their children.

Even more importantly, the schools, in partnership with parents and communities, play a vital role in promoting acceptance, respect, and tolerance. Initiatives like Peaceful Schools, the school district policies such as Caring and Respectful Places to Learn, and a host of school-based anti-bullying programs are making a difference by tackling the root causes of cyberbullying.

We also ask that the Committee recommend that issues related to bullying and to promotion of acceptance and tolerance be given high priority by the Department of Education in its school improvement planning processes, and that the development of school improvement indicators take account of the study findings on the importance of sustained, long-term, school-wide measures to promote acceptance and to reduce aggression and bullying.

In closing, we thank you for this opportunity to present our concerns and suggestions, and wish you well in your work.

How to protect your children: A parent's story