Lunch time is one of the most exciting parts of the day for students. Finally, a chance to relax, chat with your friends and show off that adorable lunch box your parents let you pick out over the summer.

But after one little girl showed up to school with a fancy bento box, a bully decided that she deserved to have it instead. Below, you’ll find a story that a frustrated mama bear shared on Reddit, wondering if she was wrong for getting revenge on her daughter’s bully, as well as a conversation with the mother herself.

This mother was confused as to why her daughter’s bento box didn’t make it home from school one day

Image credits: kenishirotie (not the actual photo)

But after hearing that another classmate took it, she decided to get revenge on the young bully

Image credits: Sandra Seitamaa (not the actual photo)

Later, the mom provided additional information on the situation

Image credits: superricecnt

Image credits: visootu2 (not the actual photo)

Bullying is sadly very common in schools, even among elementary school students

Bullying is an experience we all hope our children won’t encounter in school, but still fear that they might. And unfortunately, it starts at a shockingly young age. According to Together Against Bullying, one third of elementary school students report being bullied at school, including one in five kindergarten students. These children are so young that they’ll experience a different type of teasing than older kids, but that doesn’t mean that the behavior is ever acceptable.

Schools often aren’t doing enough to combat bullying either, as the National Bullying Prevention Center notes that 41% of students who reported bullying at school worry that it will still happen again. While there’s a wide variety of behaviors that can be classified as bullying, the most commonly reported issues were being made fun of, called names or insulted; being the subject of rumors; being pushed, shoved, tripped or spit on; and being excluded from activities on purpose. Female students also report bullying at slightly higher rates than their male peers, as nearly a quarter of girls speak up about their bullies, while only 17% of boys do the same.

To learn more about this specific situation, we reached out to the mother who shared her story online, Reddit user Superricecnt, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda. Thankfully, she shared that her daughter is doing great now and is looking forward to being homeschooled. “She found out that being homeschooled means she gets to be home all day, so she’s more than excited!” her mother shared.

Image credits: Pressmaster (not the actual photo)

“Please don’t give up on defending your kids”

As far as why the school didn’t see the bullying in this story as an issue, Superricecnt says she believes bullying is one of the main problems in schools that administrations don’t take serious. “And honestly, it has a lot to do with the admins being ignorant to it and just pretending that it doesn’t happen because they hate the bad press that comes with it,” the OP noted. “I went up to the school at least twice a week before the lunch dumping happened, and each time I would get told, ‘It’ll be handled.’ But my daughter would still come home with this look of defeat on her face. If you’re a mama or a parent, you know the look I’m talking about.”

We were also curious what the OP thought about the reactions her post received. “I want to thank all those who took my side and understood where I was coming from,” she says. “And for those who didn’t, I don’t have too many words. I feel like as soon as I mentioned dumping the lunch out of the lunchbox, I was immediately the villain.” But Superricecnt says she doesn’t mind the label.

The mother also shared some words of advice for any parents out there who notice their kids are being bullied. “Please don’t give up on defending your kids. Don’t be scared to take it a little step further to get justice, because sometimes crossing the line is what you need to do.”

Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)

Bullying can take a huge toll on victims, so schools and parents should do everything in their power to eliminate this behavior

It’s no secret that bullying can take a huge toll on victims, affecting them for possibly the rest of their lives. Students who experience bullying are at an increased risk of developing depression, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, doing poorly in school, or even dropping out of school altogether. Unsurprisingly, bullying can also be detrimental for a student’s self-image, their relationships with friends and family, their school performance and their physical health. In fact, bullied students are twice as likely as their peers to report experiencing headaches and stomachaches, perhaps due to stress.

So what are parents to do when their child’s school doesn’t take the issue of bullying seriously enough? Apparently, schools often downplay bullying because they have limited resources to investigate, they have other priorities, they have no evidence of the bullying, they don’t have a bullying intervention program in place, they believe misconceptions about bullying, and/or they consider bullying to be a rite of passage all kids experience. But Lena Suarez-Angelino, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker, told Verywell Family that parents can step in to prevent bullying as well. “Most states also have both laws and policies in place for anti-bullying,” Suarez-Angelino says. “Parents can continue to go up the chain of command, including contacting the superintendent and those overseeing the school district. Parents may also want to file a police report for further advocacy and protection.”

Feel free to share your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this mother was right to dump the girl’s lunch in the trash? Then, if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article, we recommend reading this one discussing getting revenge on bullies!

Readers assured the mother that she was right to stand up for her daughter, and she chimed in on the conversation in the comments

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