For many of us the bullying we experienced in school happened on the schoolyard: however, today’s kids have to also deal with those same bullies making their life hell online as well. A study sponsored by AT&T indicates education on how to deal with these situations goes a long way in prevention, though.

At its core, the study aims to show the successes of a cyberbullying program sponsored by D.A.R.E. in which instructors teach kids strategies to deal with and prevent bullying online. The program has been taught to fifth and sixth graders all across the company, the group says, although it is part of a larger program also offered to first through fourth graders.

As part of the program by D.A.R.E., the three “keeps” of Internet safety from online safety group iKeepSafe are taught: “Keep Safe,” “Keep Away,” and “Keep Telling.”

About 3,200 D.A.R.E. volunteers have been trained so far to give the talk, it said.

Results show that education is likely the best deterrent. Following the program, researchers found that 43 percent more students were able to describe effective responses to cyberbullying, and recognition that persons whom the child trust should be told of the situation increased by 77 percent.

This is extremely important: there have been several notable cases as of late where kids weren’t telling their parents or those in charge about cyberbullying incidents, and it ended in tragedy.

A question to those with children out there: have your kids been a victim of cyberbullying, or are you teaching your kids on your own about the possible dangers of the Internet?

 
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Read more: cyberbullying, Internet Safety