I push this on my grandson if someone hits you hit them back .This is just me so dont go all crazy each person has there own way of doing things.It does no good to tell the teacher and Im not gona let him be used as a punching bag .So yes I do tell him hit back.....

Don't start nothing. but do not let them make a fool out of you. first i will tell them to got to the teacher.for
they can nip it right then. then if that does not work . bring the parents in.

It's sad if the teachers or other adults present don't react appropriately, because they should. Ultimately, I wouldn't tell a kid to hit back - having worked in childcare, I know this leads to nothing good. When I did work in the field I always told the kids to tell me if something happened that I didn't see because I would handle the situation by giving the kid a time out and discussing with them after a cooling off period what they did and why it was wrong. Granted, this doesn't always work, especially with younger kids who may not fully understand but they do get the basics of what is right and wrong. It always made the job harder when a kid would retort that their parents told them it was ok to hit someone if they did something to you. I do understand that there are a lot of teachers and childcare professionals who won't take the time to talk to a child in a respectful manner to teach them how to handle things without resorting to violence. It's just sad that parents feel the need to resort to telling kids an eye for an eye is alright. As the saying goes, an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.

Tes I agree but when a 7 year old comes home for 3 days in a row crying because his new jacket was ripped ,the next day his pants was pulled down on the play ground and the next two students hold him while one hits him and nothing is done .My daughter and myself talked to the teacher and the District and nothing was done ,not to mention the fact his new glasses broke just a coup;e of days ago .It may be sad like you said to resort to hitting back but what do you do when the teachers are to lazy to handle the problem .My grandson is not the only child that gets bullied bu this student .We dont send him to school to be bullied ,have his personal things destroyed .so he has been told to stand his ground .This same bully broke a little girls arm last year nothing was done !

I fel really bad for kids these days with as much bullying as there is. I don't remember there being the kind of problems you're describing, Debbie, when I was a kid. Not to say they never did, just that it didn't ever seem so prevalent, especially at such an early age. I can only guess it is because teachers are not dealing with problems immediately when they happen...perhaps because there is such a culture now that teachers and other school officials are afraid they'll be targeted by the parents of the bullies and get sued or whatever so they cow tow to those people rather than help the kids that are being attacked. We also live in a culture now that features so called reality on tv that often results in hair pulling, smack down, drag outs for no reason as a form of entertainment and video games that are more violent than ever. Not to say that's all responsible for the viloent behavior young kids are exhibiting, but clearly parents are not teaching their kids proper behavior anymore so these kids aren't seeing repprecussions for being violent and mean.
I feel for your grandson, but I still don't think that hitting back is going to solve his problems because if there's more than one kid involved in bullying him then he could just get himself into a worse fight with more than one kid and not really know how to get out of it. Maybe your family needs to make a bigger stink than just talking to the teacher and the district. Threaten legal action. They tend to act fater when money is involved. Get the local media involved to put pressure on the district to curb the bullying problem. If the bully has attacked other kids too as you said, then the families of those kids might be willing to band together with you to make the issue a bigger one and not back down. Consult a lawyer; you may be able to sue the bully's family too for the personal items that have been destroyed. Plus there are some laws being pushed in some states against bullying; you or your daughter may want to contact your local politicians and see what laws are on the books in your area that might help your grandson. It's not a perfect answer, but neither is hitting back. I sincerely hope that something can be done to help your grandson and stop the bullying he's experiencing.

Thank you Tess your input is always welcome and helpful .