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I can't gurantee that my advice will always be right. And some things I might not even know. But I will do my best to answer any questions :] I'll tell you exactly what i think, so if you don't like it, dont read it!
And lately, i've discovered that one of the best answers for relationship problems is communication. talk. explain. share. it does wonders.

advice

My 12 year old son has been bullied by a boy in our neighborhood for several years now. My son has a lot of friends, but of course all his friends are around his age and scared of the bully.

The bully (Gary) is 15. A few years ago my husband and I talked to Gary's parents, because he stole a toy from my son on the school bus. Gary claimed not to have the toy, and his parents protected him--and said we were in the wrong. This only child is perfect according to them. I have given up on going to the parents. The attitude of the police is "boys will be boys" (we live in a small town).

I caught Gary in the act a couple of weeks ago. He jumped on, and broke a ramp that my son and his friends built for their bikes. I told him he was acting like a 6 year old, and that someday someone bigger and meaner will come along and "take him out". He rode off on his bike in a hurry! However now he harasses my son about telling "Mommy". Last night he threw big rocks at my son's bike, causing some damage to paint. Apparently it even makes things worse if I interfear. Usually I do leave it to my son to settle disagreements, but this boy has crossed the line.

My 21 year old son, is 6'4, 240 lbs but If I use him to intimidate the 15 year old, this would be no different than a 15 year old picking on a 12 year old. Although...I doubt Gary has paid much attention to big brother. He'd probably be scared of him, we all know Gary is a coward in disguise.

My son does not want to walk away, because this means he would have to leave his other friends behind, plus he wants to "look tough" Any tips on dealing with a neighborhood bully?

the simple answer would be to fight back. and it doesn't have to be physically either. Tactics and strategies come into play here. The saying 'safety in numbers' come to play in here. If your son and his friends make sure there are at least two people together at one time, it would be harder for the bully to pick on, right? Also, your son should try standing up to the bully and even though standing up might lead to worse results, it doesnt hurt to try right?

if my advice was really bad, here are some websites that might help:

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/emotion/bullies.html

http://www.ncpamd.com/Bullies.htm

http://www.safechild.org/bullies.htm

these are just some... if you want to find more, you can go to google.com and type in 'dealing with bullies'.

hope i helped!

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