Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Eh, the text could definitely be seen as a big deal. Your son needs to get in front of this before it comes across that he and his friend are ganging up on this other kid.
But my son wasn’t on the text. He didn’t follow up with a text or any context on his own. And, my son’s friend doesn’t even go to the same school as these kids. He lives in town but goes to a different school
But, what your son did is sort of like when the mob calls in an enforcer to do his intimidation for him. OK, I get that is maybe not what your son intended, or he is too young to realize that that would be the friends reaction, but I also hope you can see how it is very common for kids who are bullies to use their social network to continue or extend the circle of bullying.
I know that you, as the parent would prefer to see your son as a good kid who wouldn't use his peers to bully on his behalf, but I also hope that you can recognize that that does often happen and how people would perceive (rightly or wrongly) that he had more involvement than he claims.
He can either get in front of it and say to someone appropriate (administrator?) that it happened and it wasn't his intention but it made him realize that it would be hurtful to the other person and he apologizes and promises not to expand the beef by talking to other peers about it. Or he can apologize directly to the person who was bullied if he is not on a no contact request. Since he's young some adult should be mentoring him about how to make a good appropriate apology that doesn't sound like he's making excuses or denying responsibility.