Information and guidance are among the best weapons in the fight against cyber bullying. To find out what your children know, or to discover if they have concerns about cyber bullying, begin a conversation on the subject. Pose general, third-person questions in a casual, non-confrontational way. Catch them while they're helping you set the table or while you're driving. For example:

"Do kids in school ever use the Internet or cell phones to bully each other?"

"Have you ever seen bullying online? What does it look like?"

"Has anyone ever tried to cyber bully you? What did you do?"

Explain what's different about electronic bullying, and the enormous power technology puts in their hands. "When you forward a hurtful e-mail to 10 people on your buddy list, it's the same thing as writing 10 separate notes and passing on that information to each person, one by one."

Once you've talked about what cyber bullying looks like and how you feel about it as a parent, communicate the consequences in your household for breaking the rules. In your conversation, be clear that the consequences are not limited to parental action; cyber bullying can lead to civil litigation. Parents of cyber bullies can be sued for financial damages for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.