From Jesse, Child's Age 10 - 01/07/26 - IP#: 174.202.0.xxx  Click here to reply  
I got called to my boy Kevin's school yesterday. Kevin (he's 10, in the 5th grade), got into a fight with a 6th grader. The other boy was teasing Kevin about his size. Kevin and he started wrestling. Kevin is a big boy for his age (57" tall and 272 pounds) got the better of the other boy and when teachers broke up the fight, he was sitting on the other boy's chest. Kevin was suspended from school until a parent conference on Friday. The counselor told me the other boy's mother is complaining that Kevin sat on her son's chest and he couldn't breathe. Last night Kevin told me the other boy has been making fun of him since the start of school, saying he looks like a girl. He finally had enough yesterday when the other boy told him he needs a bra and grabbed one of his boy breasts. My older boy Lane has been showing Kevin some wrestling moves so Kevin decided to fight back after he told the boy to stop touching him but the boy didn't. The counselor told me Kevin is considered the aggressor and should have gone to the counselor. Kevin told me he was too embarrassed to tell the (female) counselor what the other boy was saying to him.
Any suggestions?
Reply from Thomas, Child's Age 16 - 01/28/26  - IP#: 172.226.112.xxx
At least it ended reasonably well. I'm happy for you. Everything can continue in a relaxed manner. How is your weight? My son hasn't been eating less since Christmas. I can’t stop him		 
Reply from Jesse, Child's Age 10 - 01/27/26  - IP#: 174.202.4.xxx
Sorry not to update you all sooner on the actuation. We had the parent conference with the principal, counselor, Kevin and I on Friday January 9. The principal told us that after Kevin and the other boy were suspended, "a number" of student came forward to complain about the other boy for teasing and bullying them. That didn't excuse the fact that Kevin should have told someone, counselor, teacher, or principal, of the problem. The principal told Kevin that as a big young man he has a responsibility to act in an appropriate way because the smaller kids look up to him. He also stressed that Kevin could have caused serious injury to the other boy. At that point, Kevin said he was sorry. I had talked with Kevin earlier and he wrote a letter of apology to the other boy. He gave this to the principal.
Kevin was told he could return to school on the next Monday. I asked if we could meet with the other boy and his mother. The principal said the family decided to send him to another school and he already had transferred. I found out later from other parents that the boy had been hijacking kids for money in addition to teasing and inappropriate touching.
After the conference ended, the principal asked Kevin and me to stay a few minutes. I should mention he's quite tall and very heavy. He told Kevin that when he was young he was very big for his age and got teased too, but he learned that violence is never the answer. He said he hoped Kevin he should go to other people, like me or an anult at school if he has a problem. Kevin said he understood.
So I think it ended well. I had talked to my son Lane earlier that told him I'm Kevin's father, not him, and that Lane should have brought Kevin to me in the first place		 
Reply from Thomas, Child's Age 16 - 01/27/26  - IP#: 104.28.64.xxx
That's a real shame. I always feel that the big, fat kids are quickly blamed when someone gets hurt, simply because they are big. Ultimately, it shouldn't matter who did what, and the kids should just get along.		 
Reply from Ailsa, Child's Age 9 - 01/14/26  - IP#: 148.252.20.xxx
I know it's not possible for everyone, but have you considered homeschooling? Kids can be so cruel regarding size, and it's horrible to know your child is being bullied.
We have homeschooled our two very big girls from the start, in large part because we don't want them to be bullied. It is hard work, but so rewarding, and it's lovely to be able to spend so much time with them.		 
Reply from Andrew, Child's Age 15 - 01/08/26  - IP#: 162.251.167.xxx
This is a bit of a difficult situation, but I’m a school administrator and might be able to provide some insight. It’s unfortunate that Kevin was taunted because of his weight - no one deserves to be teased and have their body grabbed. But in these situations, the evidence is unfortunately stacked against his favor. You say he didn’t talk to the counselor - does he have a friend, or someone who can attest that the other child was teasing him? If not, it turns into a he said/he said situation, and without evidence, it’s hard to fully accept his side of the story. But the school should investigate.
What is known, is that Kevin sat on the other boys chest and possibly caused injury. Injury is reasonable as almost 300 pounds on a 4’9 frame is very heavy. Not just a big boy - this is morbid obesity. Imagine someone dropping a 300 pound backpack on your chest. That’s going to hurt!
So the evidence is stacked against Kevin, and it’s reasonable from a neutral third party that he was suspended. Self defense is okay, but it has to be proportional to what occurred. Say if he was to push him back and call him names, okay. Sitting on his chest when at 300 pounds is not okay. You’d have a stronger case if someone else - say a friend, would be able to attest that he was teased. We often encourage our bullied students to inform us, even when embarrassing, because at least we can say in these situations “Kevin repeatedly came to us with these concerns, aiding his account that he was taunted.”