Dear lteaney,

First of all we are very sorry your son is going through this difficult situation. It can be heartbreaking as a parent to watch our children struggle and endure teasing and bullying. Hopefully your son's school has taken control by giving this boy some type of consequence. The boy's parents should be notified and they should also hold their son accountable for his actions, and participate in counseling with their son if needed. The school principal and counselor should be working together to get bullying at their school under control.

You do not mention the ages of your son and the boy who hit him, but in most cases of childhood bullying, law enforcement usually does not get involved. There may be exceptions if the assault is severe and the perpetrator is an older teenager, and then the case would go through juvenile court.

Make sure you are supporting your son and helping him to not get stuck in the role of a victim. Encourage him to learn to stand up for himself and speak up if he is being treated badly. Here at Boys Town we have several books on the subject of bullying for parents and for children and teens. Please go to our websites: www.boystownpress.org and www.parenting.org
for resources and information.
You can also call our toll-free hotline or e-mail us anytime. Our counselors are available 24 hours, 7 days a week to help parents with any problem or concern.

Take care and keep reaching out, and give your son a hug!  Best wishes to both of you.

Sincerely,

Cynthia, Counselor
Boys Town National Hotline
1-800-448-3000
hotline@boystown.org