The US town of Plover, Wisconsin has brought in a controversial anti-bullying approach.
Parents of children found to be bullying will ALSO be held responsible and will even be fined.
Plover Police Chief Dan Ault passed the ordinance because he felt parents should be held accountable for their children’s behaviour.
“It’s not the school's responsibility to raise the kids. It’s the school’s job to teach the kids. It’s not the police’s job to raise your kids,” he told WAOW-TV. “It's the parents’ job to raise the kids.”
Parents of children found to be bullying repeatedly will be fined $124 (€114). After the first bullying incident, parents will be notified in writing with a warning and offered help. If the child is involved in bullying again within 90 days, the parents will be fined.
And the fine is not limited to just school. If the bullying is carried out online or out of school it brings the same penalty.
“Do kids have disputes, yes,” said Dan. “But this repeated behaviour where somebody you know is intentionally being malicious, that's when we're involved.”
What do you think mums? Is he right? Would this approach work? And do you think a hard-line policy like this should be adopted here in Ireland? We’d love to hear your opinions.
