I tell my kids to stay away from those type of kids. My kids are to tell me the first time it happens so I can email the teacher. My Daughter is 11 and my son is 7. My daughter so far has never been bullied she is nice to everyone no matter what, however she is not taken advantage of. Two boys pushed my son down last year and gave him an indian burn. I contacted school immediately and they stopped it from happening again. Our school will not let your child fight back or they will be suspended as well so I tell every time. We are teaching our son boxing and quick moves just in case a bully goes to far. I will not in any way tolerate my child being bullied. I would go to the mother if the child kept doing it and if that didn't work the father would get a visit from my husband. My heart breaks for the kids who get bullied and the right people are not there to help them. That is why I have been drilling to my kids heads to tell someone at school then come home and tell me. Bullies get too carried away.

I have told my daughter that she needs to go to the teacher and tell them whenever something happens to her that isn't right. If someone isn't nice to her, we tell her to hang out with someone else. Who wants to be with someone that isn't nice? At this point we are at the basic level since my daughter is only 5. She has never come home from school upset over what someone has said to her. But, we do practice what she should do in the case that someone isn't doing something nice to her. I just hope she is assertive enough to follow through with our plan of just yelling "no, i don't like that" (or something of that nature) and walking away and telling a teacher.

My seven year old granddaughter was verbally assaulted on her school bus. Four boys, two years her senior, made very vulgar sexual comments to her and offered her money to expose herself. When my daughter found out, she looked into the school policies and printed them out. She wrote an email to every level of authority at the school and called the police. Today, the police officer is going to the school to make sure it is dealt with appropriately.
In her email, she outlined exactly what she expected the staff to do.
She acted very specifically and swiftly and is demanding follow-through.

What would anyone do if teachers are the bulliers?..We heard this one on TV where an autistic student was wired and a teacher was overheard bullying the child...How many children have the nerve to "bully" back?..To report such occurrences, one needs evidence and this is hard to come by.

I tell my boys (8 & 5) to walk away and tell a grown up. If repeat behavior occurs then they are not permitted to play or be around that child. However they have both been told and the older has acted upon it one, that occasionally if the circumstances dictate (i.e. they hit first) you must stand your ground and fight back. It's amazing that the neighbor boy who used to bully and tease my son stopped instantly after my son stood up for himself and hit back.

I was picked on a lot and my mom, a school teacher herself, told me to simply ignore them and walk away. This is not very effective as the bullies just followed and continued taunting. Some teachers were more likely to get annoyed with me for tattling since it wasn't physical abuse. My son has a few years before starting school but I hope he'll be able to tell the teacher and us what's going on.

This is a sensitive area for me, as I was a victim of years of severe bullying from "mean girls" in middle school, in so many different ways. Back then, there were no policies to deal with this type of thing in school. I never told any teachers, as that would have made it worse. I also thought that I didn't want them to know that they were getting to me, so I put on a good act around them, like I really didn't care what they were doing. But in reality it was an incredibly awful time, to add to the already awkward middle school years when kids need more than anything to feel good about themselves and feel like they fit in. I put up with it far longer than I should have.

Today I think schools have effective bullying policies, but kids need to have the strength and confidence to tell those that can help do something about it, if their own efforts to walk away or fight back are not effective.

Growing up I was always on the short scrawny side and I had buck teeth and thick glasses. Add to that a fair amount of nerdiness and you can imagine that I was a target for bullying from just about everybody. (Remember Squints Palledorous from The Sandlot?) At least I was coordinated and could move quickly. One day in 8th grade wood shop class, this was in 1966, two of the usual suspects decided to up their game a little. The larger of these idiots started jostling me while I was trying to glue my prized knickknack shelf together, the smaller more weasel like one, the instigator, was the lookout. As I stood at the workbench and continued to try to work with the shelf, the bigger offender came alongside me and punched me in the ribs, not real hard, but more than I was willing to put up with that day. In a flash I whipped my right arm, hand held straight out and palm facing down, backwards with all I had. The edge of my hand caught the bully right on the mouth bloodying his lips and knocking out two teeth. The class erupted, "Fight! Fight!" My aggressor was stunned, on the floor, and motionless as I dared him to get up. Hearing the commotion the teacher came over, found out what happened, and sent the idiot to the office where he was suspended for three days. I finished my knickknack shelf and nobody messed with me again. Ever. And THOSE were the good old days!

Southern Lehigh Public Library in Center Valley, PA is hosting the "Bully Proof 4 Life" program as part of their summer programming for children/teens on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 6:30PM. The presenter is Dana Eldridge (former SLSD teacher) from Lehigh Valley Martial Arts. The program will teach children about why other children bully, what types of behavior are considered bullying behavior, and how to respond in a situation when someone is trying to bully them. Perhaps this program would be helpful for families in the area. Registration for the program will begin on May 14.
Submitted by Lynnette Saeger, Director, SLPL

I tell my children to say to the culprit not to say/do those things to them and then to tell me. I want to know what children have these tendencis, so I can keep an eye on them. I have had to talk to a parent about a bullying issue with my 1st graders (the other child was in 5th) and the attitude I got was "Not, my child - he would NEVER do that" - so I know not to fool myslef into thinking that the parent is handling it. It has been an ongoing problem... Schools are better with the issue, but they can't always know exactly what is going on and how long is has been going on. In another issue I know of a child that was bullied and ending up getting into it with his bully as he had just had enough (another instance where it had been going on in and out of school and for quite some time) and they BOTH ended up suspended.....I tell my children to always be kind to each other and to others - you never know what kind of circumstances that someone may be dealing with - but don't be afraid to stick up for yourself and tell an adult if something doesn't seem right or is offending to you!

We had a situation in the fall at school where my daughter was, what I consider, bullied. I'm going to make an effort to keep the story short and free of detail (to keep the boy's identity anonymous). He had her in a fetal position, in tears in the nurse's office, unable to be consoled. I had to leave a meeting to go to her school mid-day to calm her down. It took ME and hour to calm her. After all was said and done, I sat with her that night and outlined a plan with her and then emailed my daughter's teacher to make her aware. Here is what I told her: Step 1--use words and say, "get off." Step 2--if necessary, yell, "get off." Step 3--if he doesn't get off, push him off. Step 4--Get to a teacher. I told her if she followed my instructions, then I would support her fully if she needed to get physical. I need my girls to know they need to be strong and stand up for themselves. In general, I tell my kids to always be kind to others and treat others as you want to be treated. I punish my children immediately when they exhibit any type of bully-like behavior.

Bullying is frightening and humiliating at any age, so listen to your child. Reassure your child that you believe him and will find a way to keep him safe. Most kids can’t handle bullying on their own and they need your help, so provide it. Identify a trusting adult who can help your child when you’re not around. They must take this seriously, protect your kid, and, if necessary, keep this confidential. I would like to share this link, about a service on how you can protect your children. Check it out: http://safekidzone.com/

After I posted my comment we were on the playground after school and a boy was harassing my daughter. The boy was previously being disrespectful to other adults on the playground and trying to destroy school property. The boy put her in a hold, from behind, and my daughter was clearly not amused. She told him to get off and he wouldn't. I watched her kick the boy until he would let go of her--my eyes and my daughter's eyes never parted. I gave her a look of support as I thought she needed to know she was doing the right thing. She freed herself and I could tell she gained confidence in herself because she handled herself. Like I said previously, I need my daughters to know how to defend themselves, and clearly my daughter needed that skill that day on the playground.

Bullies should not be ignored. Your child needs to know that he or she does not need to be treated in this way and should not need to put up with it. Keep up the communication to make sure there problem with the bully does not come back. Your child should feel safe and secure at home. Be sure to provide a safe haven, letting your child know he or she has your love and support. I would like to share this link, about a service on how you can protect your children: http://safekidzone.com/