what do you do when your child is getting death threats at school?

Question

a little boy in my son's class gave him a letter that said "i'm gonna kill you Beep Beep Beep and so on and so on. and he drew a picture of a big truck running over my son. i am going to the school first thing in the morning to do all i can to ensure my son's safety. something must be done.

Answer 1

Go to the principal with letter in hand. I would demand that this kids parents be made aware of what he has done. I would say that I wanted the school counselor present and someone from administration with detailed information on how the planned to protect my child. I would also demand that my child be removed from any classes where he might have contact with this kid and that I expected it to be done before I left the building. It may feel like your child is being punished because he has to be the one who is removed from that classroom but we had to do this last year with our 13 year old son and he was much happier in the new classroom. I think your son is very courageous for coming to you with this information. I wish you both well.

Answer 2

Definately go straight down there that is bullying the extreme and i think the child has some mental problems or their familes have alot to answer for. Make sure you make a huge stand and that your concerns don't fall on deaf ears. Let it be know that you will not tolerate it in the least and if something is not done about it you will take it to the police. I am furious for you!! What are the young children coming to these days the worst the kids ever got teased for when i was a child was having big ears or something stupid like that.

Oh and don't give the paper to anyone let them photocopy it but make sure you have the original.

I just read some other peoples comments. Don't disrupt your childs schooling by making him change classrooms or even schools. He has done nothing wrong and should be punished by being moved from his friends and where he is comfortable. If it continues or is not dealt with insist that the other child leave and if they refuse tell them you will take it further. Even start a parent petition im sure everyone will sign it.

Answer 3

yes, you are right to goto the school right away and I think that you will find that most schools take this type of threat very seriously. Be sure to bring the note with you. I know of a child in my neighborhood who was suspended for making a remark much milder than the one that you are discribing.

If it does not get resolved, I would go to the school board and then if I were not confident, I would change schools even if I had to move. It is possible that the principal will allow your son to goto a school outside of the district due to special circumstances.

You definately dont want your child's safety to be comprimised though. And you dont want the "bully" to convince your son to be quiet about it either. I would keep him out of school until I felt that it was resolved.

Another thing though, is you dont want your son to feel that he is being punished by being kept out of school, but rather that you love him enough to want to keep him safe and for him to enjoy school as much as possible, because a good education is important. Perhaps a good counselor can meet with him and find out more of the story over time.

The child that I know who made the verbal threat was blowing off steam and wouldnt really harm anyone, but he was suspended and taught that those kinds of threats are not tolerated anyway- as it should be.

one more thing, I believe that God hears us when we pray and will lead us to do the right thing, when we call upon Him and want wisdom. I will pray that God will help all parties involved to see the whole picture and that the truth will become known and that your son will be protected. It sounds like the one who made the threat needs to be told to leave the school.

Answer 4

You need to alert the school principal and superintendent immediately! How old is your son and this other boy?
If they are in the same class then I would have your son switched to another class where the other boy and him will have absolutely no contact. The school should contact the boy's parents but you need to also. Do not be mean, but let her know what is going on and offer to show her the letter/drawing. Depending on the age of the boy, you might want to consider filing a police report (you can never be too safe now a days with everything going on). If the boy is above the age of 12 then I would file a report.

Answer 5

Talk to everyone you can and do not leave and make sure they do something before you leave. It is common for them to disregard these things thinking they are not serious, as the tech events showed...they can be.

How old are the kids? If they are young it is probably something going on at home with the child which does not justify this but they may want to look into that. Make sure also, that the faculty do not mention your "chat" to this student or parent as it could only make things worse.

If it continues you may want to move your child to a different school. I know he is not going to like that but it is better to be safe than sorry! Good Luck.

If you don't mind let me know how you were able to resolve the situation. It will be good to know in case this ever comes up for my children.

Answer 6

Wow talk about blowing something WAY out of proportion! First of all take a step back and determine the ages of these CHILDREN. Secondly, check out the news about school shoot outs etc...The child is simply "acting out" what he sees every day. Yes take it to the teacher first. She can have a talk with the child in question and let him know that this is not appropriate behavior. Frankly I doubt it is as much as a threat as it is just a childish prank from a child who doesn't understand pranks yet.

Answer 7

Given the violence so prevalent in schools today you need to take this very seriously; too often people dismiss these behaviors with "kids will be kids, it's just a phase", etc and then the kid comes to school with daddy's gun. Any child that focused on death threats needs to be evaluated by a professional ASAP and suspended from school immediately. If the school doesn't act on this, take your child out of that school.

Answer 8

I would take the letter to the Principal WITH a police escort. This is a very serious matter and this child should be expelled from school. There is something obviously wrong with this kid. If you don't go with a police escort, the school may just shrug it off. By taking a police escort, it shows that you mean business!

Answer 9

Please don't pay attention to what some people have said about you taking things out of proportion. I got a reply from one of these users berating me for allowing my daughter to have a TV, but apparently she thinks death threats are no big deal!! I think you should definitely go to the school and draw as much attention to this as you can. This kid needs to know that death threats are not acceptable. Anyone who tells you different obviously doesn't have the mother instinct to protect their kids, or they don't have them at all. Follow your gut instinct-- it will lead you in the right direction every time!!! Good luck.

Answer 10

I dont know how old the kids are but it sounds like they are younger. I would take a deep breath and calm down a little bit. The first person I would talk to is the childs teacher. Teachers know things about kids that could help you understand this situation. Asking a teacher wont get the kids in "political" trouble with the administration. If the teacher cant help you, then work your way up to the princial and so on...