Parents becoming cyberbullies???

Question

I cant help but feel horrible for the family that lost their child to some idiot's way of "finding out if she was talking bad about her daughter". To be honest, I have so many issues and views with this its not even funny, but this is not a blog, this is Y!A so I'll ask how you feel about these circumstances.

As the parents of the child who committed suicide, do you charge the mother who made up this entity?

Do you hold this woman responsible for the child's death or do you hold yourself accountable for not paying more attention to what your child was doing online?

We see it everyday. MSNBC I think covers it more often than not, stories about how predators are online after our children. That woman set out to destroy that impressionable young lady and her death was unnecessary. At the same time, it is our duty as parents to be all up in their sh*t regardless of how they feel about it- as you see because of stuff like this. When my stepson was living with me we moved the pc

to the main room where we could see what he was doing. Even at the age of 11 he had a Myspace (done by his mother) with females on there conversing and saying things they had no business saying. Red flags went up and I said ok, we need to do something about this, we're moving the pc to the family room.

Parents have to step their game up because the kids of today arent like they used to be. I'm saying that like I'm old, but I'm not. However I'm a young mother who knows that the world has changed considerably, my eyes are wide open and I'm taking heed to what is going on to protect my son.

Answer 1

I think it was horrible of that woman to do that to the girl. However, kids say things like this to each other everyday. I had things like that said to me on a constant level growing up. i didn't kill myself. We are only focusing on this because it turned out to be a grown woman s opposed to some teenage boy. That shouldn't even matter though, because Megan thought it was a teenage boy.

I think responsibility should lie more on the parents. If they had been watching and knew what their daughter was doing, they might have avoided this. How did they not know she was depressed? I'm sure she didn't just wake up one day and decide to kill herself. She was probably showing signs of depression before that. Parents really need to do their jobs raising these kids. My 13 year old daughter wouldn't be allowed a computer in her room, nor would she be allowed to talk to boys she doesn't know.

If we try to punish the woman for the death of Megan, we are essentially taking away freedom of speech. It's no different than blaming school shootings on Marilyn Manson. That woman did not make Megan take her own life. She said some things she had no business saying, but that is not illegal. Like I said, would there be this much focus on the case if it really was some 14 year old boy being a jerk like 14 year old boys are? I doubt it.

Answer 2

I have read the stories on that... the parents WERE up in her buisness. Her mom logged onto her myspace and read the emails back and forth to the "boy" who she was in contact with. I, myself, would not allow my child to have a myspace until they were old enough, and that little girl was definitally not old enough.

There is no law that covers this. You couldnt charge them with anything horrible such as murder or manslaughter, but the adult woman, that made up a name and posted those things about their daughter, should have known better. At the least, its defimation of charecter and harrassment and she should be charged with that just for being a complete moron!

If that was my child that committed suicide I would be beyond irate at the woman that did this and I would push it too. I know ANY parent would be completely outraged. This is why my daughter will not have a computer in her room and I will be putting spyware onto any computer that she goes on :)

As far as who's fault is it, I think its a bit of both of their faults. The parents should have been more concerned and when she told them that "he" was posting nasty things about her on myspace, then something should have been done. But on the other hand, the woman that was doing this, was more wrong than the parents in my opinion. She is an adult, she should not be playing teenage games and doing that! I think worse than anything punishment that the law will be able to do, the woman that was behind the myspace of "Josh" is going to be branded with a scarlet letter and be judged by others and that is going to make her life a living hell.

Answer 3

if you have been following this story then you'll know that the mother was very involved in what her daughter was doing online, she even stated she couldn't believe some of the things she was saying.
The other mother however should be held accountable,for something, but please keep in mind this child did suffer from depression and yes she was impresionable but the fact remains that the other mother should have never spoken to a child like that but in the same breath we are entitled to freedom of speech whether its online or not.
It is such a tragic loss of an innocent life but i am more inclined to think that there were issues far deeper than this online crap that lead to this girl taking her own life. 13yr old girl don't contemplate suicide unles something so horrible has happened that they feel there is no way out. What caused this girl to be depressed in the first place? Was she on any medication? was she seeing a counsellor? All these questions and many more need to be answered.
This isn't just a one sided story and my own personal opinion is that although this other mother spoke inappropriately to this little girl i don't think it is what lead to her death, i think the death was related to other deeper problems she had.

Answer 4

I have read the article and no that mother should not be charged. She didnt kill the girl. If you did read the article you would know that after an argument with her mother she went upstairs and killed herself. A girl doesnt kill herself because a boy posted a message about her there was an underlying cause.

Her mother should be arrested for something for allowing her to talk with a way older boy, it is her mother who allowed her to get a myspace page when she wasnt 14. Morally the woman who made up the boy is wrong but in no way should she face charges. Did you know that after the girls mother found out she trashed some of the womans property, that is legally wrong? I dont think anyone should be charged severly because no sever crime was committed. The girl did it herself, no help or threats from anyone. The girl was mentally ill but nobody handed her or put a gun to her and told her to hang herself

Answer 5

As a mother, I don't know how I would handle the issue. I read about in the paper and it was very sad. I don't believe that the mother should be charged though...... I think there were bigger issues with this child that would drive her to kill herself. NO one in there "right" mind would do that. She obviously needed some kind of therapy. I know as with my kids, if I see some behavior that is different, I talk to them. Especially about depression. It's a serious thing these days with kids. It's not like it used to be when I was a kid, times are harder for them and we need to be on their asses, but not where you drive them to rebel, but to be understanding. Communication is a wonderful thing to have with your kids and I wish more people would understand that.

That mother should be extremely ashamed of herself and she should feel great guilt. Let that be her punishment, but I don't think she should be charged. I'm a proctective mother, I know how it can be sometimes, but I'm an adult and I have to let issues at school or problems my children are having with other kids, work themselves out. Unless I really believed their lives were being threaten. Let me tell you when my 7 yr old comes home and tells me that a 5th grader called him a fat ***, I wanted to go to his school and check out that 5th grader. It's human nature to want to defend your children but there's a line parents should not cross.

If you have underage children on myspace or any other site that anyone can contact them on, you should monitor it.

Answer 6

I had not heard about this story until now. This is a very sad and scary situation. I don't have any children of my own but this should be a wake up call for many parents all over the world. My condolences go out to this family.

Answer 7

Im familar with the story and believe that woman committed fraud. The suicide thing is tougher, and questioning the parents responsibility. Remembering back to teenage years, how any breakup could set you up and think the world is ending. Then you add the cruelty of how that woman created this chain of events.

Answer 8

With no link, I dont know what you are talking about?