What would you do if your child punched someone in the face at school?

[DarkSunshine]

Had a phonecall from my son's school today to inform me that he'd attacked another boy in the playground. Apparently there was an argument over a game (the other child said my son was no good at it and he didn't want him to play anymore) so my son pushed him to the floor and proceeded to punch him in the face before being pulled off him.

As punishment he'll miss his break times for the rest of the week and he's been banned from the school trip next week.

DH thinks this is a fair punishment and he shouldn't face anymore consequences from us at home and that he was being "wound up" by the other boy. Personally I think he should have further consequences at home because I don't want to make him think he can do things like that at school and we won't have anything to say about it.

He's in year 5 and about to turn 10 in a couple of weeks. This isn't the first time something like this has happened and I feel like we really need to come down quite hard this time.

He has no SEN.

Aibu?

Would there be an opportunity for him to apologise to the other child, with you and the other kids parents present? I think the absolute shame and mortification of this might stay with him longer than a few missed break times tbh. As a parent I would want him to see his behaviour through- OK you did something very wrong, now you have to do something extremely uncomfortable. This is what happens.

OP you sound like a great and thoughtful mother trying to deal with an unpleasant situation. Simply put I would have consequences at home for some time. That might be no TV or whatever else is a 'treat' for perhaps a month. In terms of martial arts I'd advocate Judo or something like that. It's far more about defence or self control than 'fighting'. It's been great for my two teenagers and I feel safe that my daughter, who is now off to university, has some good self defence skills.

Good luck!