Good morning! I really need some advice, because I am at my wit's end about this. I apologize in advance for how long this is, but I could really use some help and I can't post this on facebook because the other kid's mother might see it.

My son (7) has been dealing with another boy for about 2 years. They go to the same school, but aren't in the same grade so they don't see each other much there, but we run into him a lot at the park. Sometimes they get on okay, but more often than not, the other boy is unkind. He will refuse to play with my son unless he "shares" his toy, but then won't actually let him play with his own stuff. He will ask him to play a game, not follow the rules, cheat and then call my son names when he doesn't just let him dictate their entire playtime. He will look to make sure his mom isn't watching and then attempt to throw things, spit at, or pinch my son. He will round up every other kid on the playground and then tell them to exclude my son. He'll wait until his mom is putting his baby brother in the car, run back to playground, taunt/hurt my son, laugh that now he can't tell on him, then run back to the car. He'll step on ladybugs and things like that to upset him. He will intentionally harass him until he cries, then mock him and say his crying is annoying.

And the kicker is he seems to do these things to my child ONLY. I've actually seen other parents compliment how sweet he is to his brother, it blows my mind.

I don't know what to do. I've spoken to him and his mom multiple times. She knows he's being mean, but seems to be in denial about it. Every once in a while she'll get embarrassed and make him leave the park early, but that's about it. He is extremely disrespectful to her and she seems to just let him. It's gotten to the point where if my son sees their car, he doesn't even want to get out and play. We can't just never go to the park.

I've had plenty of talks with my son about how it's okay to ignore him or walk away if he's being mean, but he's so big hearted and sensitive that he has a hard time saying no when he's asked to play. It absolutely kills me to see him trying so hard to get along with this kid and for him to be treated so unkindly.

What else can I do? I've tried talking and that's not working and we can't avoid the playground forever. There's no way for me to say "keep your kid away from mine" when we're in a public space. At this point I don't know how to fix this or how to get my son to stand up for himself. But I'm about at my limit for seeing this kid look me dead in the eye and then do something mean. I know he probably has issues at home and that's why he behaves this way, but it doesn't make me want to smack that smug "I'm not going to get in trouble for this" smile off his face any less. Do y'all think maybe something like karate might be advantageous? I know I can't control this other kid's behavior, but I don't know how to get my very sensitive boy to stand up for himself either and I am so frustrated.