Would you support a fine for the parents of bullies?

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

Bullying is imo harassment, not just "something inevitable for children in school". Especially with the psychological trauma and tragedies that result from it. I think the parents of bullies should be given one warning to get their child under control, then fined every time their child harasses someone else. Somewhere along the lines of $50, maybe increasing with each incident.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Is this statist or classist?

[DC Al Fine]

Is this statist or classist?

Yes

To answer the OP, no, some kids are just terrible, no matter what their parents do. There's a lot more an often uncaring administration should do before we come anywhere close to this sort of measure.

[Mr. Smith]

That'd be no help if the bully is a teacher or other adult though.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

If the parent is fundamentally bad, do you not think that introducing external, mandatory incentives toward socially acceptable behavior might be perverted? It seems to easy to imagine a child being abused owing to the fact that they resulted in the parent having to pay a fine. Moreover, some form of social sanctioning is, in my experience, one of the better ways to correct behavior?

[Goldwater]

Along with what other people here have said, I am also somewhat concerned that "bullies" could end being a broad enough description to lead to such a system being abused.

[mieastwick]

I strongly support private schools adopting this idea. It sounds really good.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

I strongly support private schools adopting this idea. It sounds really good.

yet more confirmation that this is a very bad policy

[This account no longer in use.]

What the f--k no

[Antonio the Sixth]

Look, I'm the last person who'd be inclined to have much sympathy for bullies, but this is a terrible idea.

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

This is an amazingly stupid idea

[Sumner 1868]

No, the bully is the one that should be punished. The pseudo-psychological cult of "When I do bad things it's because my parents blah blah blah" must die an agonizing death ASAP.

[JA]

This is an amazingly stupid idea

^^

Requiring persistent bullies to attend specific counseling courses and/or performing community service intended to increase their empathy would be a considerably better approach.

[Intell]

No, the bully is the one that should be punished. The pseudo-psychological cult of "When I do bad things it's because my parents blah blah blah" must die an agonizing death ASAP.

[DavidB.]

Good idea (but only after repeated warnings). Gives parents an incentive to take not raising assholes seriously.

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

No (bullies are bullies for all kinds of reasons, my worst enemy in primary school had really kind, nice parents).

[RINO Tom]

LMFAO, no.

[Santander]

Kids need to be taught responsibility for their actions. They may have terrible parents, but for the most part, the school is not in a position to change their behavior.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

No, the bully is the one that should be punished. The pseudo-psychological cult of "When I do bad things it's because my parents blah blah blah" must die an agonizing death ASAP.

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

My point was not that parents are to blame for their child's actions, but they are their responsibility. If your child vandalizes property you'd have to pay the fine, why doesn't this apply to literal harassment of other people?

[Mr. Reactionary]

This likely violates the constitutional ban on corruption of blood.

[SingingAnalyst]

Bullying is imo harassment, not just "something inevitable for children in school". Especially with the psychological trauma and tragedies that result from it. I think the parents of bullies should be given one warning to get their child under control, then fined every time their child harasses someone else. Somewhere along the lines of $50, maybe increasing with each incident.

Exactly, and I wish people would get past the "kids will be kids" or "boys will be boys" argument. As a child I was bullied to the point where I was afraid to go to school, and would often get sick or feign illness (plus on one occasion I did miss 2 days of school for a bulltying-related injury). Unfortunately, I did not have the confidence or self-esteem to stand up for myself.

[Mercenary]

No; this is an awful idea. The best response to bullying is to help bullied kids to develop the social skills and social support to stand up to whomever is bullying them. Sometimes this means that the bullies will become the bullied, and a certain amount of that needs to be tolerated. There's no better way of socializing them.

I also support taking persistent bullies out of regular schools altogether and sending them to reform programs.

This is the correct answer.

[mieastwick]

No; this is an awful idea. The best response to bullying is to help bullied kids to develop the social skills and social support to stand up to whomever is bullying them. Sometimes this means that the bullies will become the bullied, and a certain amount of that needs to be tolerated. There's no better way of socializing them.

I also support taking persistent bullies out of regular schools altogether and sending them to reform programs.

Try as I might, I cannot reconcile this with Averroes's hatred of Paul Ryan.

[nclib]

It would be great to find a way to encourage parents to discourage their children from bullying, but I don't think this is a great idea, because there will always be good parents whose children are bullies and bad parents whose children are not bullies, even though on a societal level raising children with compassion and empathy decreases the chance their children will be bullies.

That said, teachers and other adults should be far more active at decreasing bullying and more sensitive to victims of bullying. It is amazing how the right emphasizes personal responsibility and toughness on crime, but defends bullies at the expense of their victims.

No; this is an awful idea. The best response to bullying is to help bullied kids to develop the social skills and social support to stand up to whomever is bullying them.

The social skills of bullies (unprovoked tormenting, intolerance, immaturity, etc.) are far worse and more relevant than the social skills of targets of bullies (social awkwardness, being a nerd, etc.). If someone doesn't or can't react "properly" to the bully, they don't lose their right to an education and protection from bullying.