Bully Eats Dirt After Victim’s Father Violently Retaliates, Dad Sees His Reputation Destroyed
Interview With Author
We might imagine that bullying only happens to kids in middle school or high school, but in reality, it starts happening as early as kindergarten. The statistics are pretty grim: 20% of kindergarteners said they experience bullying often. What’s worse, the numbers even go up in elementary school, where 33% of students report getting bullied.
When you’re a parent, you might often feel helpless. Your kid is experiencing psychological torment every day, but the school doesn’t seem to be addressing the problem. This one dad tried to protect his son from a bully, but unfortunately, he picked the wrong method. One that cost his son his place at the kindergarten and the dad his reputation.
Bored Panda got in touch with this Redditor, and he was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. Read his comments below!
Kindergarten social dynamics can be hard on the parents as well as the kids
Image credits: elmedoks / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
This dad’s knee-jerk reaction to his son being bullied caused his son’s expulsion and outraged other parents
Image credits: photobac / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: perfectlab / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Andrew Neel / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: anonymous
The dad tells Bored Panda he wishes he pushed for the school to take more action
Image credits: elmedoks / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
“I’ll start by saying that I was uneasy about the number of commenters who thought it was justified or that the boy deserved it,” the author wanted to make something clear right off the bat. “It wasn’t, and he didn’t.”
“I’ll also push back against the people calling me a monster and unhinged, etc. I know Reddit isn’t known for its nuance, but the majority of comments, regardless of siding, made it black and white. Overall, it’s an unfortunate situation that culminated in a horrible mistake that I’m now paying for,” the Redditor said.
One thing he wishes he had done differently was to ask the school to do more regarding his son’s bullying. “I should have been more assertive. I took a backseat and expected the school to do the right thing,” he says. “That didn’t [happen], and it ended in regrettable fashion. Had I advocated more in the first place, the circumstances that led to that afternoon probably [wouldn’t have happened].”
The father doesn’t take pride in what he did and feels remorseful. “It takes a split second to ruin a reputation that took 13 years in a community to build. What I did was wrong, and without context, it seems even worse, split-second reaction or not. Hopefully, one day, people will remember me for something other than this, but in the meantime, I’ve done this to myself,” he adds.
To other parents whose children experience bullying, the Redditor advises not to take “no” for an answer. “Never assume that just because people have the authority to do something, they will.”
“I always considered myself a huge advocate for my son, but this has been a wake-up call to the fact that I need to be the one to get things done for my children and not rely on anyone else. Emails and pleasantries aren’t enough sometimes. I won’t be making that mistake again,” the author says.
What parents can do to help their children deal with bullying
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov / pexels (not the actual photo)
Parents often feel helpless when they know their child is being bullied. The kids, in turn, don’t always come to their parents for help. They can feel embarrassed, thinking that their parents might get angry at them, be disappointed, or get upset.
It’s not uncommon for children to blame themselves for getting bullied. They might think that if they looked or acted differently, the bullying might have never happened. They also fear what might happen if they tell on the bully. The bullying might get worse, and the parents might not believe them. In some cases, they’re afraid their parents will tell them to fight back, which they might be scared to do.
Experts say that it’s important for parents to tell their children they did the right thing by telling them. Knowing that their parents will help them get through this can make the kids feel safer and more self-assured.
What should parents do upon finding out their child is being bullied? The first step should be to talk to the teachers and the school administration. When bullying occurs at school or kindergarten, parents can consult their state’s anti-bullying laws. There are also federal laws that require schools to take action against harassment based on race, sex, color, national origin, and disabilities.
VeryWell Family advises parents not to minimize what a child says about bullying. As this is a very delicate situation, a child needs to feel validated if they feel hurt and afraid. Role-playing is another strategy parents might employ: teach them how to act in one situation or another. The most important thing is to let the child know this isn’t their fault.
Some people in the comments showed support for the father, and others questioned the school’s passivity
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The dad instinctively put his foot out to protect his kid from a known bully who was attacking him. The child has obviously never faced consequences for physically attacking other kids if he'll chase a child right into his father's arms. Even at 5, you should know not to be hitting someone at all, much less in front of their parents. So the child has obviously gotten away with this before. We can say the dad should have picked his child up or swung him away or something, but defending someone is instinctive, and putting a foot out to stop an attack is natural. The moment the CCTV footage becomes available, that should be enough to shut this down. If a child is going to attack other children, especially around their protectors, the kid is going to end up getting restrained in some way. Unfortunate the dad instinctively used his foot instead of his knee or something that was more clearly an act of defence.
I would have turned round and let that kid collided with my butt. Putting a foot out makes it look like he kicked the kid. If it runs head long into his butt it's still a win when the kid falls down
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He said there's CCTV everywhere, yet not one of them caught the boy bullying the other kids? No other parents made a complaint against this kid? And this little boy, who's done NOTHING wrong, gets expelled?? Sounds to me the school failed massively, given the information we've been given.
The school doesn't give two hoots about bullying. Doing anything about it would cause disruption to their "donations" and a likely lawsuit from the bully's parents.
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Not everybody has the reflexes to do that, but putting his kid behind him and yelling at the little f****r to stop BULLYING his son would've turned the tables and mortify the bully's parents instead.
Right! It’s just how the execution of his protection went that turned the tables against him. Sad.
Load More Replies... NTA. Bullies having it their way as usual. I remember countless of them, who were tame and lovely around and to teachers, but one second without them there ... but, they don't believe you, and next time, they will even less, because "you lied the time before". Been there, done that. Dad did right, just the visibility is an issue here.
Honestly I would have done the same. I was a kid in a French kindergarten ( my dad worked at a Nato base - were from Denmark) so this other kid who was also in the kindergarten bullied me every day for about 2 months. My parents tried everything on the communication list and nothing worked. The kid just wouldnt stop - the kid would punch me, kick me and so on. In the end my parents had enough and instructed me to hit back in the way I felt was fair next time. So the kid pulled me over the flow holding my hair one day and we he was done I remember getting up and punching him. Kid never did anything to me again. Point is, sometimes kids don't respond to verbal boundaries and can act violent because of who knows what. But what kids understand is consequence and in this situation physical consequence did the trick. - it's like wen my kids were small. They started to develop s habbit of biting - my mom's best trick to solve it with us was to bite back as they did to me and my sister. And what do you know - it worked. Sad to hear about the repercussions but glad that you stod up for your kid. He will remember that
I (F34) was the kid in this situation and it was my grandma, not my dad. There was an older kid terrorizing us every day on playgrpund. After she had "a talk" with him he never toutch me again. I'm still gratefull that she made me feel safe.
I can only imagine what kind of horrors Grandma threatened the little s**t with. Grandmothers, especially the old school ones, can be fierce, and f*****g scary to anyone who threatens and/or mistreats their grandchildren.
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if you didn't know, bullies are protected by schools and the "polite society" (read ruling elite), because they will rule and discipline the next generation for the protectors' benefit.
No. They are 'protected' because the teacher can't see everything and it usually boils down to one kid's word against another. Which, incidentally, is all the parents have too, but in their case one child is theirs and so automatically believed. And, I don't know if you've seen teachers' salaries recently but I would not describe them as part of the 'ruling elite'.
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Sounds more like the bully was charging at OP’s kid, OP simply stuck his foot out as a signal for the bully to stop, and not to actually kick him. But the bully didn’t stop, and ran full speed into his foot. Not OP’s fault, technically. The bully should’ve stopped—-actually the bully shouldn’t have been bullying in the first place, so the fault goes all the way back to the bully and his parents.
From kindergarten to 9th grade, I was the biggest kid. I was also the only redhead, with bright blue eyes and tons of freckles. I was a weirdo and gay. I was bullied mercilessly by students and some staff, and the higher my grade, the worse the bullying got. I was stabbed twice, set on fire twice, sexually assaulted and punched, slapped, kicked, and pushed down more times than I could count. Sometimes, the attacks happened in front of staff and even the principal. Nobody stopped it. My one regret was never telling my Mom. She had to work 3 jobs sometimes and had to deal with my a*****e father, and I just didn't want to put any more stress on her. I was also ashamed because I was such a big boy, but I wouldn't fight back because I knew if I started to fight I would really hurt someone. I ended up being diagnosed as haveing Bi-Polar, Borderline Personality Disorder and PTSD. I should have spoke up.
What a terrible way to grow up, I'm so sorry. The adults in your life failed you miserably. Every child deserves safety, support, and protection and I'm so sorry you didn't have that.
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Shame on the school for not being more attentive to the ways of the bully. Sadly some schools see bullies as *boys being boys* and 'some kids play a little rough, maybe toughen your kid up' attitude. As described this bully was overt in their actions, how the heck did the teacher not see it? Who is watching recess? And it is so doubtful that the bully is behaving in the classroom. As adults we must refrain from putting our hands or feet on others, and yeah the OP did FU. I don't think it was malicious or planned, I believe he was acting on instinct to protect his child from a predator. And of course, doing that unleashed a world of problems. Suspending OPs child was a step WAY TOO FAR, IMO. That only empowers the bully. This is sadly a terrible situation, and should have never happened if the school was doing their job.
The biggest problem about bullying are the followers. The ones that are sh*t scared of the bully and don't want to be bullied themselves. This happens on every level in society. The followers keep the problem existing, not realizing that they make it worse and worse. See f.i. Putin bullying Oekraine. The entire world is divided on how to support Oekraine, while we all know that Putin will never stop after it conquered Oekraine. Just like Hitler didn't stop after taking over Poland in WWII. L'histoire ce répète! Bully followers lack the guts to stand up, thinking they get away with it until they are being taken over as well by the bullies. Don't be afraid of the bully, be aware of the followers who can stop the bullies but don't.
What he described wasn't even a kick. Read it again he basically just put his foot out.
We had a kid like that at my daughter's bus stop. Eventually, one of the dad's grabbed him by the collar and said if he acted out again he was going to beat his a*s... none of us said a damn thing against the dad because even as a 3rd or 4th grader, the kid was a little piece of s**t. I SAID IT! And I'd say it again... absolutely despised the little monster.
I've had a similar classmate who, as long as I knew him, always was acting violent, criminal even, and for way too long got things his way because he could play the innocent, crying, oh-so-poor boy so well. They ALWAYS get it their way, because them faking innocence isn't any unregular for them, but defeding ourselves with that much severity it took with him, wasn't usual for us after all.
Load More Replies... In the first primary school of my kids, when they were 4, 5 there was a black boy who got discriminated and bullied by other boys. That was dumb cause he had an older brother who beat them up. Then the teacher went to his mother. She said oh golly sorry blabla, but she was glad that her son handled it and couldnt care less.
...while I can't condone it... I do understand... I think every parent wishes they could step in and REALLY make the bullying stop, so yeah, cheers
So sorry to hear about this. You tried to stop this bully through the right channels, but probably his parents are donating large amounts of money to this Private School? That child sounds like the common case of my parents give me money but not their time? Move on to a better school where I hope your son makes lots of lovely friends. I hope that bully kid thinks twice now about his sad 'attention getting' behaviour now.
It's so sad that the "mob mentality" took over the other adults and they went after him. What he did was 200% okay in my book. These little monsters in the making need to be checked before they start to very seriously cause physical and emotional damage. I was physically assaulted (Not bullying in my eyes) repeatedly at that age. I wish an adult had come to my rescue like that.
Not a problem. Should have taken it to the parents too. Unless there are consequences, no one will learn. I'm glad I don't have kids because not only is this ok, I'm going to start looking for the father.
Putting a hand up to protect or stop a child is instinctive. Putting your foot out is something else. This is a father of a 5 year old, he has the muscle-memory to stop a child physically without using his foot.
I disagree. His hands weren't free, so putting out his leg is the most likely thing to do.
Load More Replies... I get the very strong feeling that the op is downplaying what happened. There wasn't just one witness, there were a hundred and if it wasn't that bad, you'd think someone would speak up. The actions of the community and the school were so fast and decisive - something that very rarely happens - that it's difficult for me to accept the ops version. It is heartbreaking to see your child bullied but even if he'd gotten away with it, kicking the bully isn't going to make the situation better.
And if you read what happened... youd know he doesnt think it was going to make it any better either. Not sure why you feel the need to reiterate for atlesst the fifth time that OP acceots they did the WRONG thing.
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If my arms are around my chold, shielding them from a bulky running at them, I gonna stick my foot up to stop them. Maybe OP should have explained it that way...it wasn't really a kick. I don't fault this guy. It's unfortunate how parents are so quick to be outraged these days.
It's ok for the kid to bully and assault all the others though but cause he's a kid boo boo he got what he deserved. It not like he beat him jeeeez
I applaud you for doing something when cleary nothing was being done. They need to set straight, I bet all the kids on Beyond Scared Straight, were bullies who never got addressed when they were younger, but then again they're parents pprobably let it slide, don't worry, they will get their jest. Nd it will be way worse that what thier child ever did to another child.
I had a similar situation when my sons were in grade school. I had reached out to the school about some bullying that was going on. There was action taken but mostly a slap on the wrist. I requested a meeting with the parents of the children doing the bullying. Nothing happened. I arrived to pick up my boys only to see a pack of older kids leap out from behind a parked car and dog pile onto my boys. there were 8 or 9 kids. I hopped out of my car and waded into the pile, yanking, shoving, and tossing kids. No one stopped to help. I was beyond mad. I grabbed one kid by the shirt and demanded to know where he lived. He was scared, and with good reason. He tried to break free while the other kids scattered. He asked why I wanted to know where he lived. I told him I was going to go to his house and kick the c**p out of his parents because they had to be the ones who taught him to be a bully. Needless to say I let the kid go and I didn't follow him home. But, the bullying stopped. Mom won!
I don't think what the dad did was right, but what SHOULD a parent do in this situation? Especially if the teacher and other school staff are doing f-all and apparently have selective blindness when it comes to the violent kid's behavior? How can they have missed EVERY horrible thing that kid has done when he seemingly does it every day, to multiple kids? I'd say talk to the kid's parents directly about his behavior, but... say what to them, exactly? What reaction would you get from parents who obviously already let their kid behave like that? They'd either deny it outright ("oh, our little Billy is an ANGEL and would never do anything like that, you're lying and get off my property!") or defend him and be like, "yeah, what are you gonna do about it?" UGH I am not looking forward to situations like these when my kid gets older.
Ideally, these parents should have gotten in touch with the other parents of the other kids who were bullied, then presented a united front to the school. In addition to that, maybe a visit to the parents of the bully. But yeah, it's a pretty awful situation if the school won't take appropriate action.
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I mean a hip check to that bully could have had the same effect by bouncing the kid away. Feral little s**t. Surprised no other parents said anything to him to stop either when he was hitting your kid. And it sounds like imps actions are recorded by other parents too. CCTV will show the story and prob get you off the hook for the rabid mongeral of a child just going bat crazy on kids. I could only hope at the trial for suing the school those parents see what their kid is doing and chasing your kid then just getting blocked from more violence. And pubic school prob more fun for your kid too. Screw that elitist school. They should have taken actions on that kid with all those reports an moved him out or to a special ed school. Must be something triggering him at home that he has to hit other kids all the time.
If school does not respond properly, always talk to the parents. And always start in a friendly manner explaining what you heard and see and what they have experienced. They either already know their sons flaws or were unaware. Then you can discuss to sit down together with all and the kids or let the parents solo handle it. If parents won't help, you can always escalate by threathing to discuss the bullying openly in the schoolyard or that you,'ll talk to the bully yourself (it needs little fantasy how to scare a 5 yr old bully). But with all of this, remember 5 yrs old are not evil, but morally blank sheets. That need to be and can be easily corrected. For everyones happy futures sakes and preferably withoot feet.
I was bullied in high school so f*** that kid. You did the right thing. I wouldn't have had a problem if you'd broken the little s**t's nose. Nasty little psychopath.
The problem started with OP calling the other boy a bully. He's a child who needs help, and may be getting it. OP knows nothing about his parents either but assumes they are bullies. And of course his kid is totally innocent. He really has done the minimum to help his kid, but he's a hero for kicking a 5 yo?? That's ridiculous.
Even if the bully child needs help, he's still bullying. He's still causing trauma to other kids that they might carry their whole lives (been there, done that). Yes, he needs a psychiatric assessment, but that does not excuse the harm he's doing to other kids.
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I'm very surprised how many Pandas believe the father's assessment of the "bully" after he admitted his wrong doing. Maybe the reason there is so much backlash in his life is in part due to his inability to navigate social circumstances without judgement. Maybe the dad is the bully. Don't believe everything that you read.
Dang, I didn't know that Americans were the only culture that had communities! /s
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The dad instinctively put his foot out to protect his kid from a known bully who was attacking him. The child has obviously never faced consequences for physically attacking other kids if he'll chase a child right into his father's arms. Even at 5, you should know not to be hitting someone at all, much less in front of their parents. So the child has obviously gotten away with this before. We can say the dad should have picked his child up or swung him away or something, but defending someone is instinctive, and putting a foot out to stop an attack is natural. The moment the CCTV footage becomes available, that should be enough to shut this down. If a child is going to attack other children, especially around their protectors, the kid is going to end up getting restrained in some way. Unfortunate the dad instinctively used his foot instead of his knee or something that was more clearly an act of defence.
I would have turned round and let that kid collided with my butt. Putting a foot out makes it look like he kicked the kid. If it runs head long into his butt it's still a win when the kid falls down
Load More Replies... He said there's CCTV everywhere, yet not one of them caught the boy bullying the other kids? No other parents made a complaint against this kid? And this little boy, who's done NOTHING wrong, gets expelled?? Sounds to me the school failed massively, given the information we've been given.
The school doesn't give two hoots about bullying. Doing anything about it would cause disruption to their "donations" and a likely lawsuit from the bully's parents.
Load More Replies... Not everybody has the reflexes to do that, but putting his kid behind him and yelling at the little f****r to stop BULLYING his son would've turned the tables and mortify the bully's parents instead.
Right! It’s just how the execution of his protection went that turned the tables against him. Sad.
Load More Replies... NTA. Bullies having it their way as usual. I remember countless of them, who were tame and lovely around and to teachers, but one second without them there ... but, they don't believe you, and next time, they will even less, because "you lied the time before". Been there, done that. Dad did right, just the visibility is an issue here.
Honestly I would have done the same. I was a kid in a French kindergarten ( my dad worked at a Nato base - were from Denmark) so this other kid who was also in the kindergarten bullied me every day for about 2 months. My parents tried everything on the communication list and nothing worked. The kid just wouldnt stop - the kid would punch me, kick me and so on. In the end my parents had enough and instructed me to hit back in the way I felt was fair next time. So the kid pulled me over the flow holding my hair one day and we he was done I remember getting up and punching him. Kid never did anything to me again. Point is, sometimes kids don't respond to verbal boundaries and can act violent because of who knows what. But what kids understand is consequence and in this situation physical consequence did the trick. - it's like wen my kids were small. They started to develop s habbit of biting - my mom's best trick to solve it with us was to bite back as they did to me and my sister. And what do you know - it worked. Sad to hear about the repercussions but glad that you stod up for your kid. He will remember that
I (F34) was the kid in this situation and it was my grandma, not my dad. There was an older kid terrorizing us every day on playgrpund. After she had "a talk" with him he never toutch me again. I'm still gratefull that she made me feel safe.
I can only imagine what kind of horrors Grandma threatened the little s**t with. Grandmothers, especially the old school ones, can be fierce, and f*****g scary to anyone who threatens and/or mistreats their grandchildren.
Load More Replies... if you didn't know, bullies are protected by schools and the "polite society" (read ruling elite), because they will rule and discipline the next generation for the protectors' benefit.
No. They are 'protected' because the teacher can't see everything and it usually boils down to one kid's word against another. Which, incidentally, is all the parents have too, but in their case one child is theirs and so automatically believed. And, I don't know if you've seen teachers' salaries recently but I would not describe them as part of the 'ruling elite'.
Load More Replies... Sounds more like the bully was charging at OP’s kid, OP simply stuck his foot out as a signal for the bully to stop, and not to actually kick him. But the bully didn’t stop, and ran full speed into his foot. Not OP’s fault, technically. The bully should’ve stopped—-actually the bully shouldn’t have been bullying in the first place, so the fault goes all the way back to the bully and his parents.
From kindergarten to 9th grade, I was the biggest kid. I was also the only redhead, with bright blue eyes and tons of freckles. I was a weirdo and gay. I was bullied mercilessly by students and some staff, and the higher my grade, the worse the bullying got. I was stabbed twice, set on fire twice, sexually assaulted and punched, slapped, kicked, and pushed down more times than I could count. Sometimes, the attacks happened in front of staff and even the principal. Nobody stopped it. My one regret was never telling my Mom. She had to work 3 jobs sometimes and had to deal with my a*****e father, and I just didn't want to put any more stress on her. I was also ashamed because I was such a big boy, but I wouldn't fight back because I knew if I started to fight I would really hurt someone. I ended up being diagnosed as haveing Bi-Polar, Borderline Personality Disorder and PTSD. I should have spoke up.
What a terrible way to grow up, I'm so sorry. The adults in your life failed you miserably. Every child deserves safety, support, and protection and I'm so sorry you didn't have that.
Load More Replies... Shame on the school for not being more attentive to the ways of the bully. Sadly some schools see bullies as *boys being boys* and 'some kids play a little rough, maybe toughen your kid up' attitude. As described this bully was overt in their actions, how the heck did the teacher not see it? Who is watching recess? And it is so doubtful that the bully is behaving in the classroom. As adults we must refrain from putting our hands or feet on others, and yeah the OP did FU. I don't think it was malicious or planned, I believe he was acting on instinct to protect his child from a predator. And of course, doing that unleashed a world of problems. Suspending OPs child was a step WAY TOO FAR, IMO. That only empowers the bully. This is sadly a terrible situation, and should have never happened if the school was doing their job.
The biggest problem about bullying are the followers. The ones that are sh*t scared of the bully and don't want to be bullied themselves. This happens on every level in society. The followers keep the problem existing, not realizing that they make it worse and worse. See f.i. Putin bullying Oekraine. The entire world is divided on how to support Oekraine, while we all know that Putin will never stop after it conquered Oekraine. Just like Hitler didn't stop after taking over Poland in WWII. L'histoire ce répète! Bully followers lack the guts to stand up, thinking they get away with it until they are being taken over as well by the bullies. Don't be afraid of the bully, be aware of the followers who can stop the bullies but don't.
What he described wasn't even a kick. Read it again he basically just put his foot out.
We had a kid like that at my daughter's bus stop. Eventually, one of the dad's grabbed him by the collar and said if he acted out again he was going to beat his a*s... none of us said a damn thing against the dad because even as a 3rd or 4th grader, the kid was a little piece of s**t. I SAID IT! And I'd say it again... absolutely despised the little monster.
I've had a similar classmate who, as long as I knew him, always was acting violent, criminal even, and for way too long got things his way because he could play the innocent, crying, oh-so-poor boy so well. They ALWAYS get it their way, because them faking innocence isn't any unregular for them, but defeding ourselves with that much severity it took with him, wasn't usual for us after all.
Load More Replies... In the first primary school of my kids, when they were 4, 5 there was a black boy who got discriminated and bullied by other boys. That was dumb cause he had an older brother who beat them up. Then the teacher went to his mother. She said oh golly sorry blabla, but she was glad that her son handled it and couldnt care less.
...while I can't condone it... I do understand... I think every parent wishes they could step in and REALLY make the bullying stop, so yeah, cheers
So sorry to hear about this. You tried to stop this bully through the right channels, but probably his parents are donating large amounts of money to this Private School? That child sounds like the common case of my parents give me money but not their time? Move on to a better school where I hope your son makes lots of lovely friends. I hope that bully kid thinks twice now about his sad 'attention getting' behaviour now.
It's so sad that the "mob mentality" took over the other adults and they went after him. What he did was 200% okay in my book. These little monsters in the making need to be checked before they start to very seriously cause physical and emotional damage. I was physically assaulted (Not bullying in my eyes) repeatedly at that age. I wish an adult had come to my rescue like that.
Not a problem. Should have taken it to the parents too. Unless there are consequences, no one will learn. I'm glad I don't have kids because not only is this ok, I'm going to start looking for the father.
Putting a hand up to protect or stop a child is instinctive. Putting your foot out is something else. This is a father of a 5 year old, he has the muscle-memory to stop a child physically without using his foot.
I disagree. His hands weren't free, so putting out his leg is the most likely thing to do.
Load More Replies... I get the very strong feeling that the op is downplaying what happened. There wasn't just one witness, there were a hundred and if it wasn't that bad, you'd think someone would speak up. The actions of the community and the school were so fast and decisive - something that very rarely happens - that it's difficult for me to accept the ops version. It is heartbreaking to see your child bullied but even if he'd gotten away with it, kicking the bully isn't going to make the situation better.
And if you read what happened... youd know he doesnt think it was going to make it any better either. Not sure why you feel the need to reiterate for atlesst the fifth time that OP acceots they did the WRONG thing.
Load More Replies... If my arms are around my chold, shielding them from a bulky running at them, I gonna stick my foot up to stop them. Maybe OP should have explained it that way...it wasn't really a kick. I don't fault this guy. It's unfortunate how parents are so quick to be outraged these days.
It's ok for the kid to bully and assault all the others though but cause he's a kid boo boo he got what he deserved. It not like he beat him jeeeez
I applaud you for doing something when cleary nothing was being done. They need to set straight, I bet all the kids on Beyond Scared Straight, were bullies who never got addressed when they were younger, but then again they're parents pprobably let it slide, don't worry, they will get their jest. Nd it will be way worse that what thier child ever did to another child.
I had a similar situation when my sons were in grade school. I had reached out to the school about some bullying that was going on. There was action taken but mostly a slap on the wrist. I requested a meeting with the parents of the children doing the bullying. Nothing happened. I arrived to pick up my boys only to see a pack of older kids leap out from behind a parked car and dog pile onto my boys. there were 8 or 9 kids. I hopped out of my car and waded into the pile, yanking, shoving, and tossing kids. No one stopped to help. I was beyond mad. I grabbed one kid by the shirt and demanded to know where he lived. He was scared, and with good reason. He tried to break free while the other kids scattered. He asked why I wanted to know where he lived. I told him I was going to go to his house and kick the c**p out of his parents because they had to be the ones who taught him to be a bully. Needless to say I let the kid go and I didn't follow him home. But, the bullying stopped. Mom won!
I don't think what the dad did was right, but what SHOULD a parent do in this situation? Especially if the teacher and other school staff are doing f-all and apparently have selective blindness when it comes to the violent kid's behavior? How can they have missed EVERY horrible thing that kid has done when he seemingly does it every day, to multiple kids? I'd say talk to the kid's parents directly about his behavior, but... say what to them, exactly? What reaction would you get from parents who obviously already let their kid behave like that? They'd either deny it outright ("oh, our little Billy is an ANGEL and would never do anything like that, you're lying and get off my property!") or defend him and be like, "yeah, what are you gonna do about it?" UGH I am not looking forward to situations like these when my kid gets older.
Ideally, these parents should have gotten in touch with the other parents of the other kids who were bullied, then presented a united front to the school. In addition to that, maybe a visit to the parents of the bully. But yeah, it's a pretty awful situation if the school won't take appropriate action.
Load More Replies... I mean a hip check to that bully could have had the same effect by bouncing the kid away. Feral little s**t. Surprised no other parents said anything to him to stop either when he was hitting your kid. And it sounds like imps actions are recorded by other parents too. CCTV will show the story and prob get you off the hook for the rabid mongeral of a child just going bat crazy on kids. I could only hope at the trial for suing the school those parents see what their kid is doing and chasing your kid then just getting blocked from more violence. And pubic school prob more fun for your kid too. Screw that elitist school. They should have taken actions on that kid with all those reports an moved him out or to a special ed school. Must be something triggering him at home that he has to hit other kids all the time.
If school does not respond properly, always talk to the parents. And always start in a friendly manner explaining what you heard and see and what they have experienced. They either already know their sons flaws or were unaware. Then you can discuss to sit down together with all and the kids or let the parents solo handle it. If parents won't help, you can always escalate by threathing to discuss the bullying openly in the schoolyard or that you,'ll talk to the bully yourself (it needs little fantasy how to scare a 5 yr old bully). But with all of this, remember 5 yrs old are not evil, but morally blank sheets. That need to be and can be easily corrected. For everyones happy futures sakes and preferably withoot feet.
I was bullied in high school so f*** that kid. You did the right thing. I wouldn't have had a problem if you'd broken the little s**t's nose. Nasty little psychopath.
The problem started with OP calling the other boy a bully. He's a child who needs help, and may be getting it. OP knows nothing about his parents either but assumes they are bullies. And of course his kid is totally innocent. He really has done the minimum to help his kid, but he's a hero for kicking a 5 yo?? That's ridiculous.
Even if the bully child needs help, he's still bullying. He's still causing trauma to other kids that they might carry their whole lives (been there, done that). Yes, he needs a psychiatric assessment, but that does not excuse the harm he's doing to other kids.
Load More Replies... I'm very surprised how many Pandas believe the father's assessment of the "bully" after he admitted his wrong doing. Maybe the reason there is so much backlash in his life is in part due to his inability to navigate social circumstances without judgement. Maybe the dad is the bully. Don't believe everything that you read.
Dang, I didn't know that Americans were the only culture that had communities! /s
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