Well, I was always taught that the only way is to stand up to them – give them a taste of their own medicine if possible. And on a couple of occasions that is exactly what I did at the age of 13 when one girl decided to make a habit of pulling my hair – life can be pretty tough in an all-girl school – but after a couple of well placed slaps to her mouth and the problem was solved.

But what if it is your child who is being bullied at school – what do you do then? a couple in Australia got so fed up with their 14 year old daughter being bullied that they took the law into their own hands and gave the assailant a taste of her own medicine. Stephan and Suzanne Baker complained to the school and police on several occasions for something to be done about what was happening to their daughter and, of course, nothing was done. Nothing ever really is these days.

They decided to act themselves, took on the female responsible, and gave her a few whacks so she could have a dose of what she was doling out herself. Of course, the parents are now in trouble for doing so. But, and I know many would disagree with this, I applaud them. I would have done exactly the same thing. Because I have been through this with my own kids.

There is only one reason why bullying is at such high proportions and that is because, simply, the young yobs get away with it. Pure and simple. Teachers these days are scared of the kids themselves and to say something to the little critters results in being confronted by their equally useless and in-denial parents. The police are just as useless issuing those ineffective verbal warnings that achieve nothing. Meanwhile your kid gets punched around and humiliated on a daily basis whilst the authorities concerned wrap themselves in their protective cloak of political correctness and do absolutely nothing about it.

In my own case where my kids were concerned I quietly approached the particular thugs making my son’s life hell after school and told them in no uncertain terms what would happen if they did not lay off…it worked. I also told my boys not to stand and take it – if they hit you then hit them back harder. It worked. There comes a time when a bully will meet his/her match – it’s about time that happened on a much bigger scale.