This is not a hypothetical question.
The parent of a school bully has threatened my eleven-year-old son.
There have been two incidents with this kid. My son was struck and jabbed with a pencil. He was sent to see the school nurse about the injuries. The nurse called us. My son did not fight back; he got away from the kid and reported it to the assistant principal. My wife and I addressed this with the school principal. The kid and his mother denied everything. The bully was not punished because he and his mother stood fast on their denial.
The principal told my wife and I that she was convinced they were lying. Her answer was to move that kid into another class away from my son and to warn the mother and her son that �if he so much as touched another student� he would be sent to an alternative placement campus. As you can guess, that had no effect and before they got around to moving the kid he threw a pencil at my son. The teacher saw it, addressed and reported it. The kid gets moved.
On Friday, this kids mother comes to school during lunch, seeks out my son in the school caffiteria, and threatens him. My son immediately reported it to the assistant principal who was on duty and present when this happened. When my wife and I spoke to her that afternoon she told us that the principal was going to handle this one and would be back on campus Tuesday.
Monday evening our son had to perform in a school concert. He did not want us to leave his sight because he was �afraid that lady might come up to me again�.
I saw the woman was at the concert so I stayed where my son could see me. After the concert I spoke to the woman. I introduced myself as the father of the little boy she had threatened and told her not to approach or speak to my son. She didn�t have a clue who I was before I told her. There were plenty of adults standing there while this was taking place. (The boy�s Father is deceased and there is no male in that household or I would have been talking to him instead of the mother.)
Her reaction was exactly what I expected, initial denial, and then admitting it and trying to justify her behavior. That was the reason I decided to speak to her in the presence of others. As I expected, she flew off the handle and became vulgar as we left.
I called the police to file a complaint. The officer came out and took our statements but told us nothing could be done other than file a report. We are pursuing action through the school system but I know that will not solve the problem.
Now don�t misunderstand guys, I know exactly what has to be done to handle a bully. My son is capable of putting this kid down when the time comes for that. I will protect my son from this crazy woman.
What I need to know is; what other actions should a reasonable and prudent person take before this situation has to be dealt with? What does it take to have a restraining order put against this woman to keep her from having contact with my child? Are there any measures I can or should pursue through the legal system before this gets where I am afraid it is heading?
What would you do in my situation?
