Would you invite the school bully to your child’s class birthday party?
That was the heated topic of discussion on Monday’s episode of Loose Women, which sparked a very strong debate among the panel and viewers.
While panellist Coleen Nolan was firmly against the very idea, co-stars Stacey Solomon, Ruth Langsford and Jane Moore said they’d remain more open-minded.
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Stacey, who is a mum to two young boys, worried that not inviting just one child from a class would make you just as bad as that bully.
She said: “If you invite the whole class, you have to invite the bully or you’re just as bad.”
However, Stacey was against the idea of inviting the whole class to begin with, pointing out the sheer cost of parties and the fact most kids only play with a handful of children, not the whole class.
Jane, meanwhile, had a similar feeling to Stacey, that by excluding one child it could be seen as a form of bullying in itself, and also would worry the child’s behaviour was influenced by something at home.
However, she felt it was important to “define the bullying”, saying: “Some has resulted in criminal proceedings but if it’s a child who is hyperactive or boisterous it might not be the child’s fault, so to exclude them further, you’re being the bully.”
She then said if the kids in question were five or six years old, she would “absolutely invite the school bully, tell the parents, ‘see you later, off you go’ and then get the little class bully and say, ‘I’m watching you mate, don’t ever try that again’.”
Ruth also said she’d wonder if there was a reason for the child’s behaviour and would define the bullying in question before making a decision.
Coleen, meanwhile, simply said: “I wouldn’t give any of my sausage rolls to the class bully!”
As for the child feeling excluded if they weren’t invited, she said: “Is that not teaching the bully a lesson? Consequences to actions?”
Naturally, there was a huge response from viewers, with many saying they would happily snub the school bully from class parties, but others saying they’d feel uncomfortable doing so.
Among those against the very idea was one viewer who tweeted: “I’m sorry but you don’t reward a bully by inviting them to their victim’s birthday party.”
Others, however, felt it would be wrong to exclude a child if everyone else in the class was invited.
Some fans advised talking to your child before making a decision and seeing how they feel.
Others, meanwhile, said they didn’t agree with the idea of class parties and would only ever invite their child’s closest friends.
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A poll run by Loose Women found that 89 per cent of viewers wouldn’t invite their child’s bully to a class party, with just 11 per cent saying they would.
Well it’s certainly a talking point, isn’t it?