For Parents

Stymie equips your child with the tools to be an upstander—someone who supports their peers in times of need.

Stymie helps combat the bystander effect by enabling students to report incidents of bullying and harm, safely and anonymously. 

  • The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation.
  • Social influence affects how bystanders behave, and students are less likely to stand up to bullying behaviours in public when the number of onlookers is high.
  • This bystander effect is also caused by a diffusion of responsibility—the belief that someone else will help.

Taking into account that our kids are very socially invested, many of them don’t feel as though they can speak up and often, they just don’t know how.

Rather than trying to work against this peer pressure, our solution recognises the nuanced nature of their social currency, by providing security and anonymity to the bystanding community.

Benefits for your child

Fostering a safe environment
Students make notifications about cyberbullying, bullying, illegal activity, depression, anxiety and self-harm. Reducing harm on all levels in schools makes for a safer learning space.

Enabling early intervention
The anonymous nature of Stymie means that students often make notifications early in the bullying cycle, enabling early intervention by the relevant contact at school.

Alleviating anxiety and stress
Encouraging bystanders to make notifications through Stymie can help reduce levels of anxiety associated with concealing stressful information.

Encouraging pro-social behaviour
Promoting a culture of care is important in all communities. Empowering students as the agents of change, means they have an opportunity to put their empathy into action.

Providing a solution
Stymie may point your child in the right direction if they have experienced or witnessed bullying or harm; a definitive course of action that may enable a life-changing conversation.

Reducing distractions
Experiencing or witnessing bullying and harm hinders your child’s ability to learn. Being emotionally stressed, disengages their brain and takes them out of their learning. Making your school feel safer, means that your child can focus on their learning and on just ‘being a kid’.

Stymie at your school

Any child at a Stymie-registered school can make a notification about someone they believe is being bullied or harmed. This notification is automatically forwarded to the school, and managed by the appropriate, nominated members of staff. Stymie does not see or store any school’s notifications.

  • Each school has their own process for dealing with notifications according to their wellbeing framework.
  • Schools have a standard investigative process that they follow. Notifications are generally explored and followed up before they are acted on. 
  • For your child and their peers, knowing that they have a safe place to pass on information can be a great source of comfort and relief.

Solving the complex problems caused by the cycle of bullying and harm has to be a community initiative. Everyone will benefit from the added safety that Stymie can provide – students, parents, educators and the wider community. If you are interested in exploring Stymie or would like to present to your P&C or PTA group, please don’t hesitate to contact us.