After finding out that his daughter was a bully, one father decides to teach her a valuable lesson.

While society tried hard to fight it and prevent its long-term consequences, bullying is, unfortunately, a growing issue. While it mostly occurs in and around school, a significant percentage also happens in places like on the playground or the bus, as well as on the internet.

It is a way for one to establish social dominance, even in the short term. This aggressive behavior among school-aged children involves a real or perceived power imbalance, and it is often repeated.

Yet, in the end, bullying can leave serious and lasting problems to both, the bully and the victim. Many would agree that school policies for its prevention are not completely effective on their own.

The right approach needs to be taken by parents, teachers, and administrators at the same time.

All of them will be much more successful after they gain awareness of the complex roots of bullying and adopt effective strategies for addressing it.

Randy Smalls, an incredibly wise and compassionate father, was aware of this and knew that he needs to deal with the issue at home first!

He lives in South Carolina and has three children. While he was growing up, he was also a victim of bullying. Even though it caused a dramatic drop in his self-esteem, he managed to have a good career later in life.

That is why he was determined to protect his seventh-grade daughter, Re’Onna, from ever being bullied.

Yet, things turned out to be different than he feared.

One day, he got a phone call from the mother of one of her classmates, Ryan Reese, and complained that Re’Onna, along with her friends, “ picked on her because of how she dressed, her shoes and hair.”

At first, Randy didn’t know what to do. Yet, he soon got an idea to teach both of them an important lesson.

He said:

“I say, ‘When you laugh along, you’re co-signing the bullying.”

Re’Onna was a shopaholic, and they had plans to go to the local mall for shopping that weekend.

That day, when Re’Onna returned home after school, Randy told her that he is going to take Ryan shopping, instead of her.

Re’Onna was disappointed and furious, but Randy had made up his mind.

He took Ryan’s mom along with them as well, and he bought hundreds- of- dollars- worth clothes for Ryan. Ryan admitted that she did not expect such a turn of events, so she started crying.

Re’Onna was also there to witness it all.

Randy explained:

“My daughter was upset, especially because she is into fashion. So she came with us and helped pick out Ryan’s new clothes. We got her hair done and we’ll be paying for twice-a-month appointments until the end of the year.”

At one point, they found out that Ryan’s father, aunt, and grandfather had all passed away recently, and she’d been suffering from non-epileptic seizures due to the extreme stress.

Ryan’s mother, Richauna, stated that “this is the first time I have seen a parent take such a stance on bullying”, explaining that she was sorry that Randy’s daughter was going through it, “but he’s teaching her a lesson.”

In a couple of days, Re’Onna figured out that she was wrong, and that was the price she had to pay.

She said:

“After it all happened, I’m glad that we did this because she needed that help.”

Her father was glad that he taught his daughter a valuable lesson. What’s more, he even inspired the two girls to become friends!

Ryan later explained that after her father’s death, Randy has become “the first father figure”. She said that being bullied at school made her extremely sad, and it took her “deep down” in her depression.

Randy concluded:

“As parents, we have to take responsibility for what our children do.

We can teach our children, but when they go and are around other children they can veer off a little bit. When situations like this happen, we have to take action and be the parent and not the friend.”

As a parent, remember to always encourage your children in life, support their skills and talents, and make sure their self-esteem is never threatened.

Furthermore, teach them to support the victims of bullying and to include them in all activities.

On the other hand, if you have children and detect signs of bullying in your child, you need to consult with experts and find an effective way to immediately stop the aggressive behavior.

Source: ronproject.com