In this situation I'd have texted/ rang the girls Mum and suggested we get the girls together, to give them a good old lesson of how girls have strength in numbers when they stick together, and how to tell boys to
duck right off with stupid games. It's not bullying, is class clown antics from the lad
.
Anyway it would have provided a great opportunity to put the girls on that path of empowerment over gossip and dickheads. I think Rachael did entirely the wrong thing getting involved on the child's level, which is possibly down to her emotional immaturity.
I am fortunate. My lads have never been bullied. Though that is largely in part because they've always been told to keep their heads down and guards up. We have no choice where we live. It's a survival tactic. It has done the trick though. The oldest two flew through education unscathed and the youngest is doing the same thing.
(Though both the older ones have had their noses broke outside the pub for being gobshites in the late teens. Deserved, a rite of passage and taught them a both a valuable lesson in humility
. No doubt the youngest will follow suit because he's just like them.)