You know everything there is to know about your kid, right? You two are like best friends and can finish one another’s sentences. If anything, and that means any-little-thing, happened to your kid, good or bad, you’d be the first (well at least one of the first) to know, right?

Wrong. While it’s true that many kids are very close to their parents, and do share many of their ups and downs and daily stories, most kids keep secrets they are too afraid or embarrassed about to share. Like bullying. I mean look at it from the kid’s perspective. You’ve lectured to them over and over about how bad bullies are and how they should always come to you first and how they are so super strong and powerful and wonderful and smart and creative and cool and too fabulous to be bullied by a bully. So with all that build up, how could they possibly go to you, of all people, when they do indeed find themselves bullied by a bully?

They won’t. So you need to be on top of the potential warning signs. Most victims of cyberbullying keep it to themselves and suffer in silence. But if you’re vigilant, you can pick up on the following:

• Change in eating patterns: Is your kid eating different all of a sudden? Do favorite foods go untouched? Many victims will stop eating from lack of appetite spurred by fear and stress. If meal after meal is picked at or ignored, take that as a cue to sit down and talk to your child.

• Acting differently: Are you suddenly living with a different child? Someone who was once calm and collected starts lashing out? Or maybe your normally upbeat kid seems negative or sad? Do they seem to be excessively worrying over things that they never even mentioned before? Take these as signs and talk to them today.

• Sleep habits altered: If your early morning riser suddenly seems impossible to wake or your sleep until noon on weekend kid is up with the sun, it’s time to investigate what is causing these changes.

• Sitting out: Is your child avoiding their usual haunts like the computer or phone? When the phone rings do they always run to their room with it or appear visually upset? Are they suddenly avoiding a friend’s calls or parties or gatherings? Now is the time to find out what is going on and let them know you’re there to help.

You’ve done a great job parenting so far and have a kid who loves to share their life with you, now is the time to make sure they share all of it … even the scary or embarrassing or upsetting. Let them know you’re always there and keep an eye out for the signs.

AUTHOR OVERVIEW

Paula Sirois Holistic Health Coach, RockZebra

Paula Sirois is a holistic health coach, single mother of two and a writer who tries to find the wit and humor in all that stuff that make up our daily lives; the ups and downs, the good and the bad - and all that messy, gooey mess in the middle. Check out her site at http://www.rockzebracompany.com/.

Tags: online safety, protecting kids online, social media