Blog #9 - School Bullies

My project was on school bullies. Bullying is a serious matter, but in my blog #10, I took a funny side on how to handle bullies with the bodyguard and the crazy eyes. These are some attempts that can be made to ward off the enemy, but unfortunately, these solutions do not work on all bullies, like it did in the movies.
I think at one time we have all had to deal with a bully. I myself did when I was in the fifth grade. I was the new kid in class and she would pick on me in different ways. One of them was to offer me candy and then take it away while she and her followers laughed. When I shrugged my shoulders and showed that it did not bother me, she got mad and tried to shove the candy in my mouth. I still would not eat the candy. I would just stare at her with no emotion. I handled her with an "I don't care attitude", so my bulling did not last long because she got bored with the lack of response and me not showing fear.
As a parent, I had to deal with my son being bullied. We took the required steps that the school wanted us to follow, but the bulling continued till momma stepped in. No, I did not handle it myself...I taught my son how to handle the bully. Was it the right way? I think so. Would other parents or school staff agree? Probably not. But it worked and he was left alone!
As scary as it was for him, the first step was to address the bully and ask why. The second step was to give a warning that if he did not stop, he would suffer the consequences, and the third step was to take action. The bully did not heed his warnings, so it was taken to the third step; which was to make sure no teachers were around, that there was not a crowd of kids as witnesses, to make one good solid punch to the stomach to knock the breath out of him, and walk away. If my son got caught, he understood that he would have to accept the schools punishment. He was lucky. He did not get caught and the bully never bothered him again.
My solution to school bullies is that the parents need to be more involved with their kids. Don't rely on the school to handle your kids problem. Involve the school but also be there to support your kid and listen to their fears. Parents need to teach the different steps on how to handle a bully without teaching them to go in with guns blaring.
As you can see, my bully backed down when I showed no interest or fear, and my sons bully backed down after a physical confrontation. As with everything in life, each problem has a solution, but it comes in different forms.