Dr. Laura:
Several weeks ago, my daughter-in-law was called into the local elementary school's principal's office, because my grandson was in a fight on the school bus. The principal explained to her that my grandson was defending a smaller kid against a well-known bully.
According to the bus cameras, my grandson asked the bully a few times to leave the other kid alone, and the bully continued tormenting the smaller child. My grandson (who is 10 years old) finally had enough and punched the bully hard enough that the bus driver had to "
wake him up."
The principal gave my grandson one day of school suspension due to the "
no tolerance" rule for fighting, but she also told him that she was very proud of him for standing up to the bully and wished that more kids would do it. Her last bit of advice was "
next time you feel the need to punch a bully, make sure the bully throws the first punch."
My son and daughter-in-law have done an amazing job teaching both of their children to stand up for themselves and others. Their kids have huge hearts and more than once have reached out to become friends with kids that don't "
fit in." I'm also very impressed with the principal for acknowledging that the punch was to protect another child and telling my grandson that she was proud of him. By the way, the bully got in trouble as well.
Tracey
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