Description of technique:
I agree with many, self confidence is the best way to keep bullying from starting, a person who sticks up for themselves and is not afraid to do so will usually be overlooked by bullies who tend to like easy targets. If they still get bullied, there is no one way to deal with it, as every situation is different. Some bullies may be extremely violent and some may just be looking for attention.

My son was verbally bullied daily by a girl in his 1st grade class, and him knowing that he is not allowed to ever hit a girl, that was not an option for him. It was very difficult for him most of the year. When speaking with school officials, I was just told that she is mean to a lot of the children, and she has a really hard home life, so they basically did nothing. So instead, I would talk to him about the situation daily, and tried to help him understand that because of her home life and being not being taught right from wrong has made her how she is. Then I told him that whenever she said anything to him, for him to just say, "Whatever" and walk away from her. Being only in 1st grade that seemed to work. (However, with older children, I would not suggest the same thing). Then at the end of the school year, I spoke with the school and have it in the rules that they are not allowed to put them in the same class again through grade school. My son is now going into 4th grade, and she has not harassed him since. But he sees her on the playground bullying new kids, and the school still does not do anything to stop it

My daughter was in 5th grade when she was being bullied by a 6th grade boy. Completely different circumstances than my sons, as this bully was actually physical. At one point he came into my back yard when I was not around, and started playing on our swing set. My daughter went outside and told him to leave, and he punched her in the stomach. When I got home, she told me about it and I instantly flipped and went down to his house to speak to his parents. They were very non-chalant and did not even make him apologize to my daughter, stating that boys are just more aggressive then girls, and that my daughter should just leave him be. I ended up contacting the police, which DID work. But it should never have had to get to that point.

The main point I am trying to make is that no one way of dealing with a bully is the right way. You should make sure your child feels comfortable talking to you about it, sit down with them and discuss options that they can try. For a non-physical bully maybe starting with a sarcastic comment back or ignoring them may be the right start. However, a physical bully needs to be dealt with differently. I tell my son that he can fight back against any (male) bully, and we will stand behind him 100%. That of course, won't always work either, because most bullies tend to be larger than my son, and many times bullies come in packs, and he certainly can't fight them all at the same time. I don't advise talking to parents, as they never want to believe that their kid could be doing something like that, and will be very defensive of them. Then worse, if they do get in some sort of trouble with their parents, it will just be worse for your kid at school, because you told on them. Same with school officials; getting the bully in trouble at school will usually make it worse for your child, even if not from the bully themselves, but also from the bullies friends.
You need to help them try to figure it out on their own, and if that don't work, then go to the school officials, making sure that they don't tell the bully who told on them.... As I am sure that the bully harasses more than just your kid. Sometimes switching classes helps. Again if that don't work, then maybe involve the police.

If you have exhausted all of your options, and no one is willing to help you, then maybe an option would be to change schools altogether. I am not saying that running from your troubles is what to teach your child, but that may be better then letting your kid go through school as a punching bag for bullies.

Age group this technique is effective for:
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond