When I was in school (long ago), I always kept to myself, never bothered anyone, but people still picked on me sometimes. Once I was sitting in class and another kid put me in a headlock, for no particular reason. He probably expected me to do nothing. I didn’t want to hurt him or start a commotion, but I punched right at his nose, and pulled my punch right before making contact. Well, this must have startled him a great deal, because he jumped back while letting out a loud fart. It reeked. The teacher came into the classroom and she had to clear everyone out because it smelled so bad. But anyways, I don’t think he ever messed with me again.

So basically, see if you can make them fart in front of everyone.

I had a bully that kept walking past my desk and kicking my leg for no good reason when I was 12. I tried to announce loudly to the substitute teacher that day to get him to stop. I know for a fact that the teacher and all the students heard me quite clearly. But the substitute teacher didn’t even acknowledge me, nor tried to do anything to stop him.

So, I tried to stand up to the bully myself. As he walked past yet again and kicked my leg again, I swung around behind me as he was passing just behind me. Unfortunately my glasses distorted my view as I tried swinging while looking past the edge of my glasses and I missed.

The dude turned back and punched me in the right eye, breaking my glasses and busting my face. I came close to losing my right eye. I left the class along with him to go to the principal’s office, crying and keeping my right eye closed. I was scared that my right eye might have been ruptured. Luckily not though, but it was mighty close.

Anyways, in the long run, the other student was expelled, his parents had to buy me new glasses, and apparently they fired that substitute teacher for not doing a damn thing to prevent the situation when I first announced it.

Long story short, you can’t always expect an adult to do the right thing, sometimes shit just happens. If I had it my way, I would have avoided any fight to begin with, but since I was being ignored, I tried to resort to self defense. Didn’t work out like I expected, but the dude got what he deserved.

Fuck bullies!

What are they doing to stand up to the bullies? They only understand definitive language or actions. If your child is just saying “no, you can’t do that,” nothing will happen. In the past, “standing up to a bully” generally meant breaking their nose.

EDIT: oh, this is about you as an adult, not your children. Good luck, adult bullies have that behavior ingrained in them from decades of training. Avoid them or get them in legal/job trouble, those are your only realistic options.

Could you be more specific about your situation?

To me, “stand up to bullies” really means “don’t let yourself be a victim”, and that doesn’t sound like bad advice.

Its not just about getting the outcome you want (the bully leaving you alone). It’s about the personal habit of being equal to confrontation. Not being rolled over by fear. You don’t need a resolution, you need to be upright and confident in the face of these sniveling weasels. They’ll never go away. They’re a permanent fixture. Learn to play in that world. That’s the point.

Bullies are part of a cycle of abuse. They belittle others so they themselves can feel less pathetic. The strategy my mom taught me is to be untouchable. Don’t give them the satisfaction of getting under your skin. Shrug, chuckle, and genuinely forget about them. They’re insignificant. No need to butt heads. It also an effective strategy for road rage. You can’t lose if you’re not playing the game. You can even make them think they won. Some of these assholes genuinely get furious at unwavering positivity.

Define bully more clearly. What adults do tends to be more indirect than kids.

As kids, bullies are pretty direct, so standing up to them is effective, at a minimum for building your own strength for standing up to things. (In a way, bullying is just the extreme form of how we tease each other growing up, which gives us opportunity to practice dealing with conflict).

Kid bullies expect other kids to just give in. By not doing so, you’ve changed the “frame” of the interaction.

As adults, dealing with assholes requires this same skill: reframing the situation in a way the aggressor doesn’t expect (or maybe comprehend).

Big guys who happen to have good character know they intimidate people just by being there, so have learned to put people at ease though body language and personality. Having worked with and for some of these guys, I’ve learned a LOT from them about controlling or influencing the frame in a given group or interaction. They know they can simply smack down an aggressor, but would prefer not to, as it doesn’t look good and is a hassle for them so is considered a last-attempt option. Which gives them all the mental leeway to just fuck with people who are being stupid.

I’ve watched these kinds of guys redirect all sorts of craziness, from aggressive drunks on the street (became their buddy), to coaxing Directors or VP’s to do things their way…as a Senior Manager. Watching aggravated people laugh within minutes of engaging with someone like this is astounding.

Befriend a big guy who’s like this - what you can learn is invaluable.

What’s an example of someone bullying you, and how you’ve “given them what they’ve given you”?

I mean the second I got physical they all backed off. It was as easy as that for a chill highschool life lol. The punishment was well worth it. Bullies are usually complete pussies anyway.

Why give them back anything? Just tell them to fuck off.

This is a weird one. Agree with them and basically be really pathetic. It really messes with people like this and narcissists.

The moment you fight back, or try to establish boundaries with people like this, they perceive you as challenging them. Since these people are ultimately insecure they will put you down really hard, to feel secure about themselves.

HealthygamerGG has a video on establishing boundaries and how it rarely works, and he discusses how you should approach it instead.

https://youtu.be/gqwjBEf3znc?si=Yi28OpyiBzS5zbQA

I’m not a parent, a teacher, or a therapist. However, I was bullied from kindergarten through tenth grade. So, here’s my two cents based on my own experience having not put it into practice.

The bully is a bully for a reason just as the bullied is bullied for a reason. You can not control the environment that created a bully but you can attempt to help your bullied child. If I were a parent, I would take a good hard look at my child and ask their teachers why they may be bullied. As a parent, I would help my kid overcome those traits if possible. In some cases, there may not be an immediate solution that you can provide. Your child, as it was the case for me, may be in an environment that’s detrimental to their development.

It’s not so much about “standing up to the bully” and telling your kid to do that is, in my opinion, counter productive. Lack of confidence is one reason a child may be bullied and gaining confidence is how to thwart ongoing threats. Their confidence will be what stands up to the bully on its own.

Confidences is gained through social interactions. Support your child by exposing them to more activities that make them uncomfortable. I quit soccer and karate lessons too quickly and my mom didn’t push me to keep doing them or really support anything I was ever interested in. This taught me it was easier to hide from awkwardness and give up on things I had a passing interest in if I wasn’t good enough at it from the start. I still struggle with this in my 40s. I may not be bullied in school anymore but life itself is always there to judge me and tell me how weak I am.

It was the summer between tenth and eleventh grade when I started to hang out with more people (like, two) around the neighborhood. We would skateboard, ride bikes, play street hockey, go out to eat pizza, etc. With a small group of people who had a little more influence / confidence in school, I guess my confidence grew enough that people to be more friendly towards me.

I probably have a poor impression of how kids are growing up today. I assume most kids are in their homes playing video games and watching TikTok. As much confidence as someone may gain at home by being really good at something they do online, this doesn’t transfer to the real world or the shared world young people experience.

Make your bullies feel important. Make them think you’re their friend. Manipulate them until they stop bullying you.

In the halls of my middle school, I felt like a ghost, invisible to everyone except the bullies who made my life a living hell. Every day, they taunted me, mocked my appearance, and tripped me in the hallway.

I tried to ignore them, but the constant harassment wore me down. One day, pushed to my limit, I finally snapped. When the ringleader, Jake, shoved me into a locker, I swung back, landing a punch square on Jake’s nose.

The satisfaction of retaliation was fleeting as the principal’s office became my next destination. Despite explaining my side, I was met with a stern lecture on violence and the consequences of my actions.

But in that moment of defiance, something shifted within me. I realized that standing up for myself didn’t have to involve fists. It meant finding the courage to speak out, seeking help from trusted adults, and refusing to let the bullies define me.

That night my dad came into my room and savagely beat with a set of jumper cables for getting in trouble.

If you can win in a fight you didn’t start, whether that’s verbal or physical win it, otherwise walk away without a bit of acknowledgement.