We congratulate a Wisconsin father who recently took out a restraining order against one of his daughter's classmates who was bullying and threatening her.
He was driven to the action after the school failed to intervene to stop the problems. Good for him for standing up for her.
This seems to be an all-too-common occurrence, and our own school system is not immune.
It's shocking when some of the actions that occur between schoolmates are labelled bullying. If they occurred outside of a school setting, they'd be defined as harassment and assault - criminal matters.
Not that we're suggesting the boy in this case should be treated as a criminal.
He's five years old. And he clearly needs somebody to start looking out for him, too.
Here's why.
He's five years old, and he told a classmate he wanted to slit her throat and watch her bleed.
It is far too common for people who hear about something like this - and one can see it in the comments sections below such articles - to suggest he's some kind of bad seed and that all he needs is a good beating.
Unfortunately, in such cases, the kids are often far too familiar with a good beating already.
Kids act out what they see. At five years old, the boy in question didn't just make up such a specific idea of slitting a girl's throat out of the blue all on his own.
He's likely either experienced such behaviour at home or seen it in an age-inappropriate movie or television show and now he's acting it out on the playground.
This kind of thing is a giant, waving red flag.
This is the chance to intervene in this child's life and hopefully put him on the path to being a productive and non-violent adult.
The idea that visiting violence upon him will teach him some sort of lesson is just plain stupid.
All he will learn is that violence is an acceptable solution - as long as you're bigger and stronger.
If we do not find out and deal with the "why" now when the kids are small, experience tells us that it will be our law enforcement and court system dealing with it later when it's no longer classed as "bullying."
Submit your letter to the editor online We want to hear from you! Submitting a letter to the editor is now easier than ever - you can do it online by going to the Cowichan Valley Citizen website, www.cowichanvalleycitizen.com, and clicking on the Opinion tab. Then click Send us a letter.
Write 300 words or less on the topic of your choice, include your full name (first and last), and a town you hail from.
Include a phone number (which is not printed) so that we can verify your authorship.