Parents Talk: Dealing with a Bully

Welcome to Parents Talk, where we open the conversation up to our mom and dads in the community. Share your insight, experiences, and thoughts on the weekly parenting question in the comments below. And submit your own questions in the comments or by emailing jimw@patch.com.

It's a tricky situation. Little Johnny comes home crying. He won't tell you what's wrong, just says some kids were mean. Finally, it comes out, two boys have been making fun of him every day on the bus, pushing him and taking his lunchbox.

How do you respond? What do you do next?

One local mom said when she was faced with this situation recently, she was so mad, her first reaction was to march down to the other kid's house and tell him to Stop it! But, she realized that if she overreacted it would just make her son feel like he couldn't talk to her.

Long gone (we hope) are the days of dads telling their boys to toughen up, fight like a man and show the bully who's boss. But the delicate balance of teaching our kids to deal with their problems and recognizing that sometimes an adult has to step in still exists.

What would you do?

What if you find out your kid is the bully?

In February, the Mill Valley School District board approved a policy that added clarity to the definition of what constitutes bullying, including cyber-bullying, and arranged to train teachers and staff to address it.

It's important, as the adult, to know when bullying goes beyond simply playground teasing and your child's safety or well-being may be in jeopardy. And to try not to relive any experiences (unpleasant or otherwise) you may have had as a kid.