Kelly Miller

Bullies

My sister’s adopted son just started at a new school. He switched in the middle of the year because he was having some problems in his old school and they weren’t really able to help him academically. He is a little bit delayed and very small for his age and he has already been held back one year so he is the oldest but the smallest kid in his class. This new school is probably a better fit for him and they have the resources to help him along. Unfortunately, he is having some problems now with bullies teasing him quite a lot. He is really a sweet and likeable kid so although he was never very good in the classroom at his old school, he never had a problem with making friends and playing with other kids on the playground – so this is a new thing for him, and it’s hard because it’s the last thing he needs with all the other challenges facing him. My sister is kind of old school and her solution to this problem is to send the boy’s older brother to school with him one morning so he can have a threatening talk with the kids who are bullying. I am not sure this is a good plan but she says that he is just too small to stand up for himself to these bigger kids and that the only way a bully will stop is if someone stands up to them on what they are doing. Is she right? It all seems very backward and non PC but maybe she is right and maybe the threat of a punching from big brother is what is needed to get these kids to back off so he can have a chance at this new school. I am worried that big brother is going to end up in trouble and it’s not going to do anything good.