Today we got a call from my son’s teacher. He was in trouble for fighting. We teach our kid the rules about fighting, and he is well aware of what you are not to do. But today he was in trouble for *choking* a boy. A boy from his first-grade class, who is probably as big as your typical third grader, and is also known for being a bully. My son takes after me, and is on the smaller side, only he doesn’t seem to know it. I love that he doesn’t seem to know he is smaller, because it means he doesn’t let it hold him back. So when a big 3rd-grade sized bully starts giving him trouble, the fight wells up inside him and today he just couldn’t hold it in. Of course, he’s grounded from video games and Youtube until Friday. Because though it’s good to be able to stand up for yourself, in these cases the answer is not retaliation.