For the past two weeks my Facebook page has been inundated with ridiculously cute pictures of kids starting new grades and sometimes even new schools. The start of the school year is often a fraught time for parents. Do they have all the supplies they need, does their first day outfit conform to what is cool right now, is their best friend in their class and will their teacher realize their potential? But over the past few years, a new concern for parents has come onto the scene; will my child be a victim of cyber bullying?

And it is not just a parent concern. As educators and leaders we are acutely aware of our need to make the classroom, or the team, a positive place for all children. And that can be hard. Only a superhero can hear everything that is said, and see every move each child makes, all day long. But through zero tolerance and role modeling we can teach that bullying is not acceptable. What we can’t do is log onto your child’s social media account and make sure that every interaction is positive and appropriate, and that has created this whole new world of cyber bullying that is fairly unregulated right now.

According to an ‘eMarketer’ report, this year 45% of 0-11 year olds will own a smart phone and 89% of 11 to 17 year olds; making it even harder for parents to provide round the clock monitoring. Plus who do you complain to when cyber bullying occurs? Especially if it didn’t happen during school or club hours? Fake accounts sometimes even prevent you from knowing who the bully is.

BGCLT recognizes that we have a role to play in educating our members about cyber bullying; how to recognize it, how to stop it and how to make sure you never do it. We have hosted workshops addressing the topic in conjunction with LVF, and this summer a group of our members met Pro Golfer Paige Spiranac at Edgewood Tahoe to hear her story of being cyber bullied and what she is now doing to help combat it.

See a video of their time with Paige here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JusAkU5Iwmg

This fall our new therapist, Eric McAdams, will also be working with our members in social and emotional learning groups. Teaching them important tools such as empowerment, empathy and self-confidence. We hope that by giving our members the tools to feel good about themselves, and educate them on what they can do to stop cyber bullying, we can play our part in making even cyberspace a safe place.

If you are a golf fan, come and support the Club at our 24th Annual Golf Classic at Edgewood Tahoe on October 16th 2017.  100% of the proceeds go towards supporting the Club and our programs.  Sign up here for the best round of golf you’ve ever played!  https://bgclt.org/event/24th-annual-boys-girls-club-lake-tahoe-golf-classic/