It is one of a dad’s worst fears and it seems to be happening more and more (or talked about more and more) these days: bullying. When one Life of Dad user shared that his daughter was being bullied in school, hundreds of fellow dads shared advice on how to stop your kid being bullied. Here are just some of the great ideas on how to stop bullying in school through online self defense training classes.

"My daughter is being bullied in school. I spoke to the principal but they never did anything. What else can I do to ensure this comes to an end?"- Life of Dad user, Mark Jessings

Posted by Life of Dad on Sunday, April 30, 2017

Zack Harmon: As a father I would say if its physical bullying maybe enroll her in karate as a solution to defend herself. If the principal did nothing go up the chain and if that doesn’t work I would threaten to call news team to cover how the school is not doing their best for students.

Dan Seymour: I have a 3 stage system with my kids.
Step 1- Ask the child politely to leave you alone.
Step 2- If they continue notify a teacher or adult.
Step 3- If they continue after the teacher/adult has told them to stop, then I give full permission for my kids to punch them square in the nose.

Nathan Joslin: Schools actually care very little and do very little about bullying. You have to make noise. Show up at PTA meeting, School Board Meeting. Talk to as many people as you can make as much noise as you can. Talk to the media if you have too. Talking to the school is ineffective.

Sam Hinds: Go to the counselor if her school has one, if not try the principal again. If they do nothing go to the superintendent. Report said attempts and tell them what you know also demand that they do something or you will be contacting a lawyer because you are failing to provide a safe learning environment and make sure you have documents. Also see if your child’s school allows parents to observe their child’s day. Or if they allow volunteers in the school do that. It’ll be great for your child and you can watch her. Also get her involved in something/anything, it’ll help her feel better. Scout programs, clubs, sports and groups are all great options. Especially if they advocate no bulling because then they have to demonstrate that.

Carl Barter: My bloke was getting bullied. I spoke to school counselor his teacher and the principle (very small school) after four months and nothing had changed. I told them their system wasn’t working if it wasn’t sorted by Friday I would spend the weekend teaching him how to throw a right cross. And even though he would get in trouble at school I would take him out to dinner to celebrate.
Friday he said the bully had apologized and wanted to shake hands. He accepted the apology but refused to shake hands.

Jacob Sabins: Lots of good advice in this thread. I would do the following:

1. Talk with your child and encourage her, build her up, remind her that you’re on her side, and teach her how best to treat people.

2. Begin to document every communication with the school. Most schools end up in really deep trouble if they show a track record of not responding to bullying.

3. teach your child what my dad taught me: Don’t you ever start the fight, but be sure you finish it. Don’t throw the first punch, but don’t shy away from throwing them.

4. If this is all verbal and/or cyber-bullying, definitely report it and/or consider a moratorium on social media. Block cell numbers, emails, etc. and stay on top of it. It sucks that they have to be the ones going without social media but it’ll be worth it in the end to protect them.

Good luck brother. I hate that you guys (or anyone) has to go through this, but you will get through it together.

Amber St. Denis Johnson: Not sure how old your daughter is, but schools have counselors & social workers so has she told them, or just a classroom teacher? Demand to speak with the district’s DASA (Dignity for All Students Act) coordinator. That’s the person who’s responsible for reporting bullying incidents to proper authorities. And yes, self defense big time!

Max Bradley: You can’t do anything to stop bullying! Unfortunately it’s a part of life. I strongly believe that bullying happens to everyone at some point in life. And I mean everyone! Some more than others obviously. All you can do is teach your daughter how to cope with it. How to be the bigger person. And make sure she looks forward to the day when her former bullies are asking her “do you want fries with that”.

Earl Gable: Find out who is bullying her and address it with the parents. If they are unwilling to do something, then get an “OOP”, which stands for an “order of protection” against them. This works just like a restraining order that women typically get against abusive husbands or boyfriends. If they “break” the rules of that order, then the police can step in and address AND it forces the school to have to step in immediately.

Joseph Cascio: Set another meeting with the principal, and inquire as to why nothing was done. If that yields no results, go to the press. Principals, especially in public schools, are as much politicians as they are educators, if not more. Then, rather than shrug off your concerns, they’ll have to answer to a public that is largely growing tired of schools allowing students to be terrorized.

Have you been bullied? Has your child? How did you and your kid handle it? Share your story with us on Facebook.

flickr photo by Working Word, used under Creative Commons license.