OT: Bullying

What about calling the childrens parents? If it were my child, I would call and speak with the kid moms one at a time, and let them know what is going on, and that it is hurting your son. Talk to them about a tactful way to bring it up to their bullying boys without really bringing your son into the mix. There must be a book out there that deals with this subject. Don't let it go on - bullying 5th graders turn into bullying 8th graders and bullying 12th graders - it will never stop.

I was a victim of bullying as a kid, it got so bad I would hate going to school.My mom tried the whole calling the other girls parents, of course the parents denied vehemently that their little" angel" would never do such a thing.The principal was equally effective.fianlly, when these girls tried to throw me out of the 2nd floor girls bathroom ,and were caught by a teacher( who happened to hear me screaming) it stopped...and the girls parents insisted I had to have done something to provoke it.( i was in 6th grade)..Seriously, I don;t know what the solution is. I now have a daughter of my own, and I am afraid for her.I bought 2 books called 1) Queen Bees and wannabees, and 2) Quenn Bee MOms and Kingpin Dads by Rosalind Wiseman.My heart goes out to you and your son:grouphug:
 
Your right, my girls are only 1.5 and 3, so no, I haven't had to deal with this first hand as of yet. But I still stand firm in my ideal that you need to contact the parent of the bullying child, whether through the school or picking up your own cell phone. You said yourself "Their kids is doing bad things and they are unaware." - If they are unaware, make them aware! I'm making this the next size so I can reread it, I'm not yelling really.

Been there done that. I have made them aware for the last two years of bs that their son is pulling, some of which involved the law. You want to know their attitude? They DIDN'T care and thought the police were wrong. They actually told their son "I don't want to have to hear from this woman again regarding your behavior!" Not a thank you for letting me know.

They disregarded what the police had to say and brushed the whole incident off letting others take the blame for what their kid did. I guess in their eyes they are above the law with all their $$ and they don't have to respect anything or anyone. It is amazing to watch really. Again, no offense, but your kids are little and you haven't lived it yet. Just wait until you do, it is an eye opener and not in a good way. My friend has kids older than mine and when she was going through garbage I would sit and listen to her and think to myself "wow, I can't believe this, you should do such and such." It's a whole different ballgame when you are the family involved. I hope you never know the feeling because it really is terrible.
I mean, the way you see it (from what I have read) is that your going to take care of your child - I totally agree with that - but your leaving the "bad" kids parents in the dark.Again, I tried and was kicked in the teeth one too many times. Maybe your right, maybe they don't care, but how would you feel if your kid was the one doing the bullying, and parents and teachers were having meetings about him/her and you didn't know anything about it?! Oh they know all right because the principal called them and spoke to them. She let them know exactly what was going on and they CHOSE not to do the right thing by not contacting my child and us to apologize. Says alot about their character and integrity now doesn't it? This kid was at my house constantly. They were best friends. It goes to show blood is thicker than water and they will protect their own even if their own is wrong. Wouldn't you want to have all sides of the stories? You said: "It won't be long before it is drugs as the booze has already been passed around and drank." These kids who are drinking and drugging are in your town - driving cars.... what if there was something you could have done (like contacting their parents back in 5th grade) that could eventually save their lives, or the lives of a stranger they may impact (literally).Again, no offense, but we have also been there and done that. We were the victims of a drunk driver so I know exactly the effect of that. I understand that you can't save the world, but when you have an opportunity right in your hands, it is your adult, parental duty to do something about it. Maybe it wont make a difference, but at least you tried, and that's all you can do.I have tried over and over and over again. You also have to know when to back out gracefully and only save your own child. This is my time to do that and again I hope to God they are paid back in spades, because they truely are not nice people who deserve what they get.


I stand by what I wrote before, do not contact the parents, but contact the school. It is happening at school and must be dealt with at school.
 
NEVER contact the parents of the bully. You are assuming that they are just uninformed and will do something to correct the behavior as soon as they are aware of the situation, but you are WRONG. Parents of buillies almost NEVER see their children as culpable for anything.

It's very sweet of all of you who have young children to think that this kind of behavior can be solved by one parent calling another, but it's totally unrealistic and naive. It won't work. Don't waste your time calling.

Call the principal directly and set up a FIRM meeting time with the school counselor, teacher, etc - whoever it takes to make the point that you are SERIOUS about something being done. MAKE them put together a plan of action for your child. You are his advocate here.
 
NEVER contact the parents of the bully. You are assuming that they are just uninformed and will do something to correct the behavior as soon as they are aware of the situation, but you are WRONG. Parents of buillies almost NEVER see their children as culpable for anything.

It's very sweet of all of you who have young children to think that this kind of behavior can be solved by one parent calling another, but it's totally unrealistic and naive. It won't work. Don't waste your time calling.

Call the principal directly and set up a FIRM meeting time with the school counselor, teacher, etc - whoever it takes to make the point that you are SERIOUS about something being done. MAKE them put together a plan of action for your child. You are his advocate here.


I completely agree with this and you are 100% right.
 

*Just a little comment about the choir---at my son's school, ALL of the 4th graders have to be in choir. At the Christmas concert, after the band plays the choir comes out & sings.*

Anyway, if my son were being bullied I would definitely talk to the teacher & principal.
 
Been there, doing that. My DS14 has gone through this and periodically goes through it.

Do not, I repeat, do not contact the parents of the bully. It is a complete waste of time as the apple rarely falls far from the tree. They will likely not care, or listen to little Johnny cry stating that he didn't do it, or that he did do it but didn't mean any harm. Had a child cry crocodile tears in front of me and his Mom, then give me the dirtiest look the next minute. Of course Mom belived that he was sincere in his apology. Kid has since backed off of mine, but on to others. Wish I had gone to the school on that one. (He is a neighbor and we are all betting on how long before he ends up in Juvy Hall!)

For others, we have gone to the school. I've spoken to teachers and administrators. Yes, find out what the school policy is and make sure they enforce it. Our kids are given at Students Rights and Responsibilities Guide every year. The kids go over it in class and are required to sign it and have their parents sign it. I've pulled that guide out several times to show the administration what they are suppose to do.

Also, try to give your child some tools. My DS was at a day camp one year. A child sat next to him at lunch and said "Give me your chips or I'll hit you." My son just looked at him and said "Go ahead and hit me, 'cause you're not getting my chips." It must have knocked him off his game as he had no return comment and just introduced himself to my son. They hung around the rest of the week.

We keep stressing to our kids that bullys bully only to make themselves feel better. That the only way they can feel good about themselves is to make someone else feel bad. My kids try to ingore it as much as possible, but there comes a time when it must be addressed and I have no problem marching into school.

Go in on Monday and meet with all in charge. Teacher, counselor, principal! Get this stopped now.

Good luck!
 
My kids are grown and this is a different day and age but I will just relay a story. Whenever my dd was in 5th grade she had two girls that would torment her. They would say all kinds of things to her...yea...don't go the parent route, everyone has an angel, and it doesn't help.
My dd was not a phycial person at all, but I took her to kickboxing classes and it helped with herself esteem, it buildt up a confident in her that showed on the outside, she Never got into a fight but she wasn't afraid either, it got around about her taking classes and the problem just went away. Not saying that works for everyone but it did in her case, she is now 25 years old and doesn't hardly remember these girls but I do. :rolleyes:
 
My heart breaks for what your little one is going thru. You never want to see your kids in pain. My daughter is small, one of the smallest in her grade ( 4th ) and more than likely always will be. ( I was. ) In K, everyday this little boy would pick on her, tease her, call her names, push her....she goes to a private school, so they don't tolerate this at all. He was constantly in trouble, and on the verge of being expelled. One day on recess, she was line leader for the day ( very important in Kindergarten! ) and he pushed out of line and said he was line leader. She slugged him dead in the eye. (She did say she was aiming for his arm but he moved! ) NEEDLESS to say, I get a call from the principal. She had explained everything to him ( he said she started at the first day of school!) said she was sorry she hit his eye, and what she should've done. I had her write a letter of apology to the principal and little boy.

He has left her alone ever since.:thumbsup2 I did tell her I don't condone this type of behavior, ( did I mention it's a Christian school??) but sometimes you have to put the bully in his place. I know I wanted to yank the little :eek: up by his shirt and show him what it felt like to be bullied.
 
I agree that talking to the parents is a waste of time, and I really think it'll make things worse.

DS just worries that going to the principal will make it worse, but I think there's no alternative.
 
Does the school have a guidance office? Or a social worker? I would go to them. Our middle school has box you can leave anonymous notes in.

My daughter and her best friend has a note left in it about them -- that they were going to beat up another girl. They were called down to guidance. I spoke to the guidance councelor afterward and she told me that they knew that the note was bogus from the name on it. My dd is not a fighter and she actually went to the guidance office one day to report that she heard another girl was going to beat someone up. Her best friend is very timid and not a fighter either. The person they were supposed to beat up had been a friend of theirs, but she had a history of lying and talking about her supposed best friends to others so it had ended. The guidance councelors realized that the note was most likely written by this girl to get my daughter and her friend in trouble.

I told the councelor that I was happy they took this type of thing seriously. The next day a few of the other girl's friends got in my daughter's face and she went back to the office. All of the girl's were called on the loudspeaker down to the office and spoken too. Although the councelors knew my daughter her best friend and other friend who hadn't been too involved were the victims they spoke to the whole group and told them that the behavior ends now. They told them that they did not have to be friends, but they would not be speaking about eachother or any threats. If there were they would end up in the principals office. The councelor called me after and told me that all the girls were nodding their heads the whole time except for a couple who were probably the instigators.

The good thing is that that was the end of it. No problems since. they have even started a tentative friendship with the original friend -- meaning they speak when they see eachother.

I say you take it to the school. Schools take bullying very seriously these days.
 
NEVER contact the parents of the bully. You are assuming that they are just uninformed and will do something to correct the behavior as soon as they are aware of the situation, but you are WRONG. Parents of buillies almost NEVER see their children as culpable for anything.

It's very sweet of all of you who have young children to think that this kind of behavior can be solved by one parent calling another, but it's totally unrealistic and naive. It won't work. Don't waste your time calling.

Call the principal directly and set up a FIRM meeting time with the school counselor, teacher, etc - whoever it takes to make the point that you are SERIOUS about something being done. MAKE them put together a plan of action for your child. You are his advocate here.

I totally agree.
 
*Just a little comment about the choir---at my son's school, ALL of the 4th graders have to be in choir. At the Christmas concert, after the band plays the choir comes out & sings.*

Anyway, if my son were being bullied I would definitely talk to the teacher & principal.

My DD's school too. It's "cool" to be in the choir or orchestra. But of course, not ever state/school district/child is the same. Interesting though.
 
Even for the boys?

Yes, and it's so the "norm" for us, but I remember thinking how odd when my DD joined orchestra (she refused choir no matter how many of her friends were in there, very self conscious about singing) that it seemed like the entire 3rd grade was there. Then 4th, and now 5th. At her school, we're really, really blessed to have a strong music/art department and as soon as the children enter in full day kindergarten, they're introduced to such a strong art/music curriculum, I guess they just think it's normal.

And this is not to say in any way we don't have bullies. The boys are awful with the physical hitting of the girls. My DD has been hit on her behind by boys, pinched, punched and threatened. I remember growing up, if any boy touched a girl, the other boys would beat him up for daring to touch a girl. I don't know what our generation did wrong, but it's not good. It's quite out of control. It's bad enough the girls have to deal with "tween" pressure of growing up and fitting in with clothes, friends, popularity ect then you have boys hitting them too. It's ridiculous. And yes, the boys get picked on too. My DD has several boy friends and while none of them have been bullied, I hear stories of what goes on with the smaller boys, or boys who don't fit whatever mold they have. It's been a very sore and volatile subject, especially this past school year. Parenting is failing somewhere and it's just a real shame.
 
I don't think it's being used in a sexual sense either. DS does not want me to call the school because he thinks the kids will deny it and that he'll end up looking foolish.

DS is right. At this level, calling the school or the other parents is likely to do much more harm than good. There are some really excellent books out on "bully-proofing" your kids.
 
DS is right. At this level, calling the school or the other parents is likely to do much more harm than good. There are some really excellent books out on "bully-proofing" your kids.

We've been through this before, and it's easier said than done...

I've written a letter to the principal. If I don't hear from him by the end of school on Monday, I'm going to call him.
 
My DS was getting bullied on the school bus. (2nd grade)

It took a while for DS to tell me but finally he did , the other boy told my DS, next time he sees him ,he's going to beat the crap out of him and punch him in the face.

My DS is very non-confrontational. The situation got a little sticky, because my DS actually went to a Catholic school but rode the public school bus to the elementary center (where the bully attended) then switched buses to go to his Catholic school.

I called the Elementary center principal and he tried to say since DS didn't attend there, he wasn't responsible. I didn't buy into that and told the principal , the bully is your student plus my son is riding "your" bus so yes you are responsible.

The principal did put an end to it, and we have since moved so we don't have to see the bully anymore anyhow. Good Luck
 
Please do something about this. I have known a couple of boys who have had to transfer schools because they got the "gay" reputation. Regardless of true orientation, middle school is a nightmare for boys who get teased for this. I believe that parents of the bullies may not take it seriously. I would want to know and I have warned my middle school DD that she is never to participate in this teasing. I actually had a situation where the woman who carpools for my DD's basketballl team participate in this "gay" name calling. She told me that she had a discussion with the girls to guess which of the boys do they think were "gay". My DH and I were so shocked that we have pulled our DD out of the carpool now drive our DD ourselves and she will never drive with this woman again. I actually confronted her with the fact that somebody could call our very sporty DD's "lesbians". She seemed shocked and said that "that would never happen". Well is could and these girls would be horrified including this womans daughter. I would not be surprised if these bullies parents use the "gay" term themselves and would laugh about the situation. It breaks my heart that your son has to deal with this. I just hope that he can get through these middle school years. Hopefully in HS the choir or the school play group of boys can get more support.
 


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