Question

Kids are teasing my son at his school, what should I encourage him to do about it?

Answer 1

answer:This answer comes from my 13 year-old son who went through something similar last year when he was in sixth grade. The first thing he says is to talk to your son and share your own experiences with having been bullied. My son thinks that if he hears that his father (who according to my son he most likely respects and thinks is really awesome and cool) got through something similar, it would help him get through it himself. He also thinks you should tell your son all the things you figured out about yourself and that he has has all those things going for him. To quote my boy “tell him that he has a valuable place in the human race.” Finally my son said you could quietly talk to his teacher or the principal at his school. He says he isn’t necessarily telling you to go behind the boy’s back, but not to make a big deal out of and speak to someone at the school about what is going on. My son says he suggested that you speak to someone because your son might not want to admit that he isn’t ok with the situation so he is reluctant to go to anyone about it. At my boy’s school they have a system where someone who is being bullied or who has witnessed bullying can report it directly to a counselor anonymously. As a parent I can say I feel for you. My heart ached for my son last year when we went through our situation. My son’s first reaction was anger as well which only made the bully more aggressive and made things worse. My son and I talked about different ways he could handle it and finally came up with a plan that worked. What I learned from this question is that even though he was adamant about me not doing so at the time, he would have appreciated my going to the school.