Your 3rd grader tells you that kids are teasing her on the schoolbus. What do you do?

Call or talk to the bus driver about the problem your having. At the same time I would also set an appointment to discuss the situation with the principal. Where I live that sort of stuff is not tolerated. Those kids would loose their privilege to ride the bus for X amount of time. That's how it's always been in our area. Our bus driver is really good about breaking that sort of stuff up fast. It's just not something that is tolerated.

You might also want to consider having an anti-bullying speaker come to the school and have a little seminar about the topic. Discuss it with your principle. There are also anti-bullying groups for victims of bullying. If you go online there are an abundance of online resources. Get her involved in group activities in school. The more friends she has the less interesting she will be as a target. Continue to ignore the bullies because they are looking to get a rise out of her. If she doesn't "feed" them, hopefully they will move on. Write EVERYTHING down in a calendar. Write down all the when's, where's, what's, who's and how's of the situations that take place. That way you have documented proof of the occurrences. It's a good reference when trying to deal with an ongoing problem like that. Tell her to discuss her problem in confidence with a teacher she trusts or someone in the school. In my area they are really good about not making things worse for the victim.

No matter how strong your daughter is, this has permanent effects on her self image. (I know, it took me years to get over childhood bullying). I suggest calling the parents of the children who are doing the bullying. Do NOT be accusatory. Just say "Hi, I am suzie's mother. Do you have a second? I really need your help, and I am hoping you can help me. My daughter suzie is having a hard time on the bus. I know that the older kids can really put a stop to this type of thing by being a good example. Can you please talk to your son Mike about ways that he could help?"

I think it works better when you don't say something like, "your son Mike is bullying my daughter on the bus..." but rather frame it in a request for help. That takes the parent off of the defensive and she will feel that she is able to do something "good" rather than get blamed for something "bad."

It might also be good to send a role playing game idea home with the PTA paperwork. Ask parents to role play what it is like to be a friend to someone who is getting bullied, or to talk about how to respond when you are getting bullied.

Good luck!

Make the bus driver aware and hopefully those kids will see some consequences, teasing hurts just as bad as does a kick or something being thrown at you, no kid should have to endure it, id also want to get in touch with their parents, if I found out my daughter was teasing another kid, id be the first one to set up a meeting and make sure my daughter understood there would be consequences if she didn't make an effort to be nice and sincere, it's too bad we cant all raise sympathetic children, my oldest tries and makes friends with everyone and tries to ensure no one feels left out, however there is no guarantee she wont face bullies later, best wishes, I think your on the right track

Some kids are bullied at home and have no idea what real interaction is. They know no better. Others have huge insecurities, they may not even know themselves, and bullying makes them feel bigger. there are several ways to sort out bullies, one is to walk away letting them know that you are not affected by their taunts (even though inside you may be crushed). Another way, and this can be scary, is to ask them. Ask why they feel they have to bully. Usually they won't have a reasonable answer. You can tell them when they are ready to act like a human being, you would be happy to sit down and talk about anything they want. They may or may not take you up on your offer but it will hit them inside. Unfortunately there are a few people that no matter what you say or do, they are beyond help. Just remember that most bullies are crying out for help and may even feel they don't deserve help. They are usually hurting badly inside.

the longer you and your daughter just ignore them and dont tell anybody about it (principal or bus driver) the more they will think that what they are doing is ok.. people learn from their mistakes and if no one punishes them for being hurtful to your daughter then they will never learn what they are doing is wrong.

I would definitely let the bus driver know about it so s/he can keep an eye on the situation.

I would talk to the bus driver

Poor thing! I would tell her to sit close to the bus driver and privately bring it to the driver's attention so s/he is aware.

have a discussion with the bus driver about it....if it continues----go to the school principal....

talking to the bus driver won't solve the problem.That only solves it on the bus.I would go to all the links.