The Rules of Parenting, 2nd Edition

RULE 72

Teach them to stand up for themselves

No, I’m not suggesting you should tell your child to punch anyone in the face who gives them a hard time. But bullying is a part of human nature and it happens in all schools (though some deal with it better than others) so you need to be prepared for it. If your child is being bullied, we’ve already seen that you have to do something about it. I’m here to talk Rules and I haven’t got room for a whole book on dealing with bullying, but that may well be what you need.*

So what’s this Rule about? Well, if your child is facing – or might ever face – bullying, the most crucial thing you can do is to teach them to handle it before it goes too far. Do you know why kids get bullied? For being different. ...