Last week a 12-year old Florida girl committed suicide after years of being taunted on social media by her friends.

Her parents pulled her out of school, changed schools and sought psychological help, but in the end even that didn’t work.

This pretty and intelligent girl who had to quit the cheerleading squad among other activities because of this bullying decided one day not to get on the school bus and keep walking to an abandoned building where she ascended a tower and jumped to her death.

News accounts say there may be as many as 15 people who went to social media to encourage the young victim to kill herself and authorities are considering whether to formally charge them with a crime.

Cyberbullying is more common than we think and even when it doesn’t end in the ultimate tragedy, it adversely affects young people at a time in their lives when they are trying to build self-confidence.

What’s a parent to do?

1.    Don’t be so fast to put cellphones in the hands of children.  Admittedly there is a lot of parental and peer group pressure to do so, but resist it.  Be a parent.

2.    Closely monitor screen time and put parental safeguards in place.  Unfortunately, this victim’s parents did that but the message still got through on her mobile devices.

3.    Teach self-confidence by example.  We teach sports.  And how to dress, clean your rooms, etc.  Why not teach self-confidence.  The best way I have found is to cultivate the culture of looking into the mirror and giving gratitude for what you have while you stare into your own eyes.  Try it.  It’s powerful.

4.    By example show young people the positive power of social media – a massive tool that also helps build self-esteem when used properly.

Here is a little story I favor that may be helpful.

For some reason some people feel emboldened when they communicate via email and social media.  They say cowardly things that they would never say in person – I’m speaking about adults, now. 

Most online insults are not replicated face to face because bullies are weak people without the courage to speak their evil in person.

99% of people are good and mean well and for everybody else you stand up to a bully by rejecting them.

Before the digital age that might mean pushing them back.

Today, we delete them and their inappropriate comments.

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