Girl shares upsetting messages to mum after being cyber-bullied

A teenage girl has opened up about being bullied by her classmates on social media over her weight.

Photos of the girl, known only as Bailey, were taken and shared by other pupils at her high school. She texted her mum asking her to bring her a change of clothes at school when she realised what was happening. A screenshot of messages she sent her mum have gone viral. The image drives home the reality of cyber-bullying. Her mum appears to have come straight away once she realised how serious the situation was. Bailey posted the screenshot to Twitter, where it quickly went viral. She also posted a screenshot of a cruel Snapchat photo one of her bullies took. Bailey's Twitter account is now private but the images were tweeted by fellow Twitter user IssaInfluencer to raise awareness about bullying. Other Twitter users shared their disgust at how Bailey has been treated and praised the girl's mother for her response to the situation.

Body shaming and bullying are the worst, I can't. Probably the girl you just called fat the last time she had a proper meal was weeks ago. ?.... It's bad. I've had my part because of my forehead ?

— Snethemba Ngidi (@Sne_no1) December 3, 2017

this isnt right. my heart is broken. why are people such morons!?

— thetruthspeaker (@thetruthspeak1) December 3, 2017

Some people are just so insensitive. And it seems like that girl is used to that kind of treatment ?

— Th. XX (@Thami_Qumbisa) December 4, 2017

? her mom said she'll be there in 7 minutes; 5 minutes later she was there ?.... You can laugh at the girl but she's blessed yoll....

— sbu_and_200_others (@NgoveniSbu) December 4, 2017

? as a mom I just loved how her mom responded. The world is filled with all kinds of humans. And the kind that do this type ish really need to be dealt with. Her text broke my heart. ?

— Miss Avi?? (@Lativa_Ent) December 3, 2017

This is heartbreaking. Shoutout to her mama for her response.

— Nicola Wade (@Nixiljuice) December 3, 2017

This mum may have gained praise for reacting so quickly to her daughter's distress, but how can parents deal effectively with the issue? A 2017 survey reported that one in ten kids in Ireland has been cyber-bullied in some way. In a world where we're all on social media so often, it's worth keeping an eye on your teenager's phone and attempt to engage with them, says child psychologist David Carey. "What is most important for parents is to constantly monitor, to the best of their ability, computer and phone usage of their children and keeping lines of communication open throughout all the childhood and adolescent years," he wrote in an op-ed for HerFamily. Barnardos warns parents to look out for common signs of cyber-bullying, including your child being angry, upset or withdrawn or being secretive about their phone. You can read more of the organisation's guidelines here  or check out the advice on StopCyberBullying.ie.