Parents shouldn't be 'disarming' their children by telling them not to fight back against bullies, a psychotherapist has said.
It comes amid a debate over whether children should defend themselves against bullies in school or just walk away.
Almost 30% of school children in Ireland - 29.8% of boys and 30.2% of girls - report having being bullied, according to a 2018 research study from HBSC Ireland.
That figure has increased from 24.3% back in 2010.
Psychotherapist and author of 'Bully-Proof Kids' Stella O'Malley told Newstalk Breakfast she believes reasonable force is appropriate.
"I think when you look to the police force and the emergency services they have pretty standard rules - that if you're being attacked you're allowed to use enough force to get yourself out of danger," she said.
"I don't think it's appropriate to live in a utopia for your children that they're not allowed use enough force to get out of danger.
"It's a well-established concept that if somebody mugs you today and they come from behind you're allowed use enough force to get yourself safe.
"I think it's really inappropriate to emasculate or make powerless children because you would hope that everybody would be a pacifist".
'Long-term resolution'
Ms O'Malley said parents should always try to work with the school in the first instance.
"Certainly it's always better to work with the school, it's always better to have a more long-term resolution," she said.
"But what has happened is an awful lot of children have been told, 'Never hit back'.
"I've had awful lot of contact about bullying over the years and I've realised that some children take that very seriously".
Ms O'Malley said parents are giving out instructions that they themselves wouldn't follow.
"I've asked the parents, 'If you got mugged would you fight back?' and they would," she said.
"So why have you given your child some instructions that you don't follow yourself and the kids literally follow it to the letter of the law."
Ms O'Malley said such an approach makes your child "extremely vulnerable to being hurt very badly".
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