Retaliation

[JoJo88]

We’re having a debate here at home and I wondered which side you all sit...

If a child gets punched at school, should they get punished if they retaliate?

[Labboy]

For me No, the child is just protecting themselves.

[dubletrub]

That's a hard one, in reception class many years ago a boy kept hitting my son. I kept telling him to speak to teacher/ dinner ladies etc and my son was told to stop telling tales !
Because of this I told him to hit him back and the boy would stop. He did, the boy told the teacher and my son got in trouble.
I complained to the head as I had spoken to the teacher previously, had I not I wouldn't have complained about it, I would have let him take his punishment.
So my answer is, it depends 😊

[sophiepop]

No they shouldn’t be punished for protecting themselves. They wouldn’t do if it they weren’t pushed in the first place

[Guest]

No , it’s self defence.
My ds was bullied by the school trouble maker for a good couple of years in high school until one day he snapped and punched him back .
The bully stopped after this but my son was still sent home from school for 2 days which we understood but didn’t necessarily agree with it

[Guest]

Originally Posted by JoJo88

We’re having a debate here at home and I wondered which side you all sit...

If a child gets punched at school, should they get punished if they retaliate?

See more...

Depends, if they did something to incite the first punch then I'd say that they do deserve to be punished for retaliation

(I.e. if they shouted to the other person "you are so fat, fatty fatty fat boy" and then they got hit, I'd say they started it)

[mandco]

Ds went through a period of being bullied and eventually got so fed up with nothing being done he retaliated and ended up in loads of trouble as in the eyes of the school it is not acceptable for them to retaliate under any circumstances.

Personally I have always told my kids they have the right to stand up for themselves.Retaliation should be a last resort and they should look for another solution if possible but you have the right to defend yourself if needed. As an adult you would not allow someone to be abusive to you or hit you so why is is acceptable just because they are kids?

[Billy Beatnik]

Absolutely not! If a child is big enough to hit, the are big enough to be hit.

[400ixl]

Define retaliation, defending yourself I see as acceptable, continuing to knock ten bells out them in retaliation is not.

Schools will have the view that neither is acceptable. Right or wrong that is the stance they have to take in today's world.

[JoJo88]

Sooooo, DS is Year 9. There was a Y8 on the basketball court at school, playing with a ball on his own. DS and one of his mates went over to play, attempting to get the ball (not to take it off him, just to join in). The Y8 tried to kick DS in the side but DS blocked the kick and the younger boy then ran away. As DS was walking away, the boy ran up behind him, managed to land a punch on DS’ face and again ran away.

DS was absolutely fine, wasn’t hurt or anything and the other boy is being sanctioned and there will be a ‘restorative meeting’ between the two of them tomorrow. 🙄. It’s a non-issue as far as DS is concerned.

However, DH is disappointed that DS didn’t hit him back, whereas I’m glad he didn’t as I know he’d also have been punished. Not that I necessarily agree with that rule. Had it happened outside of school I’d have no problem with it.

Interesting that so far everyone agrees with DH