“Zero Tolerance for Bullying”

What has this meant at your child’s school, in your experience?My stepdaughter was punched in the face by a boy last month and the school handled that by moving his seat. Our 5 year old son has been kicked in the face twice by another classmate who has also been calling him names, threw him to the ground last Friday and also made fun of a game he played today until he cried.We met with the principal after they didn’t do much about my stepdaughter being punched. We have also talked to my son’s teacher and she is aware of this behavior. I know my son may need to push back eventually but he gets pretty upset when I say that because he doesn’t want to be mean. I also sort of get it, why should he be something he’s not just because another kid has some sort of problem?I’m trying to understand what we should be expecting from the school. Our son has started saying he’s glad when he’s not in school and having big emotional meltdowns (like when he was a toddler), also says he’s dumb, etc. He was in all day preschool since 3 and never had these issues. He actually got an award last week at he school assembly for being kind, following directions and academic success but now he’s really beating up on himself.I know there’s going to be a learning curve for kids new to school but we’re almost 2 months in. I also know both parents work so this boy is most likely not new to a daycare-school type setting.The principal says we should meet to discuss. I am just confused when I hear “zero tolerance for bullying” because obviously our kids have seen bullies be pretty tolerated so far. What has zero tolerance for bullying meant at your kids’ schools? Thanks in advance.(edit: mistakenly typed 2 years instead of 2 months) via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2ykCwiz