How to talk to your kids about Zero Tolerance Policies

I want to talk a little bit about the zero tolerance policy and how we can have discussions with our children about it.

It seems counterintuitive to teach our children self-defense only to be told in school, if they defend themselves at any level, well, it's going to work against them. That they may even get kicked out of school or put on some longterm suspension.

A little background first.

The zero tolerance policy became a pretty common thing in the mid-1990s, as school administrations' adherence to certain laws were put in place back in 1994 about firearms. This is where it all began. Then it spilled over into drugs and violence.

Some school administrations have gone so far to say that if there is in-school violence, any type of fight or a situation of bullying, then both parties are going to be removed and dismissed. That’s absolute zero tolerance.

Some of us can be pretty critical about that policy. Meanwhile, others can be very accepting to it and saying, "Look, I want zero violence in our school regardless." Either way it comes down to a simple fact that if we’re teaching children personal protection, then we have to also make sure that they know how to articulate certain situations to school administrators, teachers or adults.