DD is average for her age but small for her grade. I have coached her to cry in private but maintain the stuff upper lip in public as nothing makes a bully stop (that doesn't involve at least a suspension) as quickly as being ignored.
Eh... sometimes. Often times it just makes the bully escalate, because they're looking for a reaction, and not getting it makes them angry, and they try harder.
My DD10 has a quick wit, so I began coaching her to use humor as her response, which I believe had a role in helping her defuse such situations and turn enemies into friends in the long run. But it was also helped big in the short run, because talking about clever responses she could have used for the mean thing some kid said to her made her tears go away.
