Bullies

I never really know what to do with a bully.  Or HOW to deal with a bully.  Buddy got punched in the stomach the other day at school…and though the kid that did it isn’t normally a “bully” that is what we are going to call him for now.  (in this post, not with the kids!)

 The incident report said that the kid punched Buddy in the stomach after Buddy said some mean things about him and the kid’s brother.  Being the “responsible” parent that I am, I talked with Buddy about these comments.  He of course is totally innocent, as he is MY kid, he can do no wrong.   However, in this case, though he didn’t REALLY say anything wrong, I pretty much had to tell Buddy that I would have been miffed too.  Not that it deserved a sock in the stomach, but the kid does understand sarcasm.  

What did he say?  He said “Your brother’s hat looks cool.”   No, it doesn’t warrant the punch that he got…but Buddy HAD to know what he was saying.  I asked what kind of hat he had on, he said it was just a hat, but backwards. 

So after our talks on inappropriate things to say to kids, we did congratulate him on NOT hitting back.   And Tim added this next bit of advice.  “If you are ever hit again, don’t let the kid know he hurt you.  Just kind of laugh and then go tell the teacher.  This way, the kid thinks he got in trouble for nothing.”