DEAR ABBY: I want to tell you how my 10-year-old daughter handled a bully. One day after school, she came home and told me about the physical and verbal abuse she was experiencing at the hands of a boy in her class. It was never-ending. I asked if she wanted me to intervene. She said she wanted to handle the situation herself.
I then suggested she keep a diary of all the things this boy said and did to her. I told her to take her diary to the principal when she felt she had enough evidence to support her case. After several weeks, I got a phone call from the principal of her school. She had just seen my daughter and her diary. The boy and his parents were called in immediately. The abuse stopped that day. She never had another problem with him.
Trying to handle the problem herself gave my daughter a sense of power, confidence and control over her own life. Let me add, I was monitoring the situation from a distance. Had my daughter not been taken seriously by the principal, I would have stepped in.
Today my daughter is a senior in high school -- an outgoing, happy, kind, confident young woman. Maybe her story will help someone else caught in this situation. -- HEATHER'S MOM, MESA, ARIZ.
DEAR MOM: Your suggestion is an excellent one. As with any other form of harassment, documenting the incidents and building a body of evidence was vital. I hope other victims of bullying will learn from your letter. You and your daughter handled the situation beautifully.