[Aliantha]

Well, I know why this kid is a bully. His mother is in a wheelchair. She has MS I believe although I've never pried so don't know for sure. Obviously this boy has some pretty heavy emotional burdens as do most other bullies. I honestly feel more sorry for this boy than I do angry now and I'm glad I decided to give myself time to think about it before charging off with a full head of steam to confront him and his parents.

I've now spoken to all the parents of all the children who've been playing this game in the afternoons and we've all agreed that they can play other games together, but not one where 'tackling' is involved, particularly on the street. All the kids seem to be ok with this and it's given the smaller ones a way out of having to face up to the rough play without losing face or appearing wimpy and the bigger boys don't feel they've got to step in and 'take on' this other boy.

Hoof...I can understand your sis feeling the way she did about the punishment. It's hard sometimes to keep quiet when you feel you've been wronged but usually for the best. Personally I think it's wrong to get involved in the punishment process other parents have for their children and usually will only cause more anger and negate the punishment applied in the first place.