Click for simple, affordable ways to make the most of what's left of summer. Mental health experts say you shouldn’t ban your kid from group chats. Here’s what to do instead Group chats are often rife with bullying, exclusion and inappropriate content.
Here's how to teach kids to use them wisely. I’ll never forget the day my seventh grader got off the school bus with his head hung, walking at a snail’s pace up to the house. They were flashy for sure—bright neon yellow covering every inch—but he absolutely loved them.
I’d heard about it before. It started around fifth grade and had only grown as more and more kids got cell phones. My smartwatch-wearing son wasn’t in it, but that didn’t save him from falling victim to group chat bullying.
His experience follows a trend that pediatric mental health experts know all too well. Toretta and other experts acknowledge that group chats aren’t all bad. Toretta says. **Related**Raising kids who are kind online and IRL–a mom’s guide So, what’s a parent to do?
Your instinct may be to forbid group chats outright, but experts agree that’s not the way to go. Think of the group chat as another space for social learning. If you approach group chats with care, they can become a space where kids can practice relationship-building skills, boundary setting, how to navigate peer pressure, and build their own identities, Dr.
That’s clearly a necessary skill, sadly illustrated by the devastating events at Cornell University. Members of the Chi Phi fraternity posted pictures and derogatory language in a group chat, announcing that an intoxicated female student was sexually available. Not a single member of the group chat was brave enough to intervene, notify the authorities or even express disapproval.
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