my son took down a bully today

If the principal calls CPS, then the school and the principal open themselves up to a lawsuit for filing a false claim and retaliation. Clearly the principal does not think your child is endangered and is, in fact, bullying you into punishing a small child for acting in self defense.

Next time something like that is said, say so. The media would love to jump on this, and a hungry lawyer might have fun with it, too.

Being a mom of 4 boys and my oldest also being 8, I absolutely agree with your and yours sons approach. If my son was being the bully he'd def get disciplined a lot harder than him just defending himself! I can't believe the school actually told you they'd call CPS!

Yeah, the fact that the school official made any comment about how you raise your child would be enough to make me want to sit down with the principal and hash things out. They have no right to threaten you or try and discipline you as an adult, much less insinuate that you are raising your child incorrectly. My brother had to deal with this kind of crap growing up, constantly getting picked on (so did I but his was worse) and we are both lucky to be here after the pain we went through. My parents raised me to never start a fight, and I never did... but one day my dad told me, "If you can't end the bullying by finding an adult or with your words, you need to defend yourself." The kid 4 years older than me ended up with a broken nose after I piledrived his **** into the dry, hot blacktop like a *****. Worked for at least 5 years haha!

Call the Superintendent and report the principal. Explain the issue -- there is no need to call CPS because of a situation like this, and threatening to do so is actually a form of bullying in and of itself. Also, obviously the school itself is incapable of handling bullying and supervising of kids, since this continues to occur. The district office and superintendent are the next logical step.

My experience with CPS was that they just showed up, without any warning, because they don't want to give you time to prepare (my ex-husband figured it would be a great way to get even with me for not being a properly submissive wife and staying miserable forever). It was a pleasant visit. She walked in, spent about 5 minutes talking to me, I called the sitter and had her bring the kids home early, she talked to them briefly, pulled me aside and said she could tell from the minute she walked in that her call was bogus, thanked me, and left. He apparently tried it one other time when we were in court (per documents released via court order during a later court time), but the notes on that file show that they didn't give it any credence and weren't going to investigate.

More than likely, the principal won't call, as s/he knows it's completely stupid and a false report. If she does, more than likely CPS wouldn't bother to respond unless she REALLY blows it out of proportion and twists everything. And if they respond, it will probably take about thirty seconds for the social worker to realize it was idiotic (unless you're a complete idiot and living in filth and come off like an abusive jerk....and you don't seem like that. LOL).

I was bullied by a particular "tough girl" in high school. She would wait until after gym and corner me in the locker room and call me names. I finally got sick of it one day and got up in her face and told her if she wanted to fight then take a swing and we'd see what happened after that - that ended the bullying. She was only doing it because she thought she could get away with it and never thought I'd defend myself. My two sons have been told that I will not punish them for defending themselves.

If you have Netflix, take some time to watch "Bully" - a documentary about bullying in school. There are scenes where the school staff are saying they can't do anything. In another scene, a boy is bullied and does the "appropriate" thing and tells a teacher. The teacher finds the bully and then tries to force the kids to shake hands. The kid who was being bullied refused because he was sick of the school doing nothing about it and the teacher then called HIM a bully for not shaking hands. The school staff are pretty much inept and/or too saddled with policy to make much of a difference.

High five for your kid!

How dare the issue that no one was there to supervise not be addressed. Then again who's to say a blind eye wouldn't have been turned anyway?

As someone who was bullied too, I congratulate your kid for laying down the law with his bully. Maybe now that kid will think twice about messing with him.

That Principal's a joke.

My kids haven't been the victim of a bully. But I remember telling them when they were in 2nd grade, after discussing this topic in school, that they first should find an adult. If they can't, tell the bully to stop in a loud and clear voice, not giggly and quiet. If that doesn't work, try to move away from the bully. If those three things fail, and they're still being bullied, then they need to defend themselves! Well, DD was 7 at the time and she told her teacher that her mom said she could hit back. Um...no, not exactly. When everything else fails, what's left?? Just take it? NO!! I also told DD's that they would NOT get in trouble if they has to resort to that. I'm sorry your son had to go through that, but good for him for NOT putting up with it one more time. He tired everything else, and this was what he was left with.