Bullying might be widely condemned in virtually all walks of society, but none can deny it remains a rampant problem.
Of course, as parents it’s our job to root out and stop bullying when we find it, especially when it involves our own children.
One dad is now making waves for his actions when he found out that his daughter had been bullying one of her classmates.
Randy Smalls, a dad of three from South Carolina, was made aware that his child was treating another unfairly. Needless to say, he was less than happy about it.
As per reports, Randy wasn’t about to sit back and let his daughter Re’Onna’s behavior go unchecked. She was mocking classmate Ryan Reese, and Randy believed she needed a lesson she wouldn’t forget.
“I say, ‘When you laugh along, you’re co-signing the bullying,” the father told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Randy was bullied himself as a youngster, so could empathize with Ryan’s plight. In a bid to restore some of the girl’s confidence, he asked his mom if he could take Ryan out shopping.
Strahan Sara and Keke
“I wanted to help Ryan so she wouldn’t have this issue anymore,” he said.
In an ironic twist, the money spent on the shopping spree had initially been intended for Re’Onna. Randy didn’t want to reward her for participating in bullying, however, and made her come along to help pick Ryan’s new clothes out.
“My daughter was upset, especially because she is into fashion,” Randy explained. “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,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Strahan Sara and Keke
Ryan’s mother, Richauna, said that her daughter had been struggling with a host of recent losses to her family, including the deaths of her father, grandfather and aunt. She’d even been suffering from non-epileptic seizures as a result of stress.
“This is the first time I have seen a parent take such a stance on bullying,” she said. “I’m sorry that Re’Onna is going through it but he’s teaching her a lesson.”
Ryan herself added that she’d been left in tears by Randy’s offer.
“I wasn’t expecting it. I just started to cry. It (the bullying) was really sad for me because I had lost my grandpa, father and aunt, and it really took me deep down in my depression.”
Indeed, Randy’s gesture is one many parents can learn from. He was rightly horrified to learn that his daughter was involved in bullying another child. It certainly seems like she won’t be doing that again.
“As parents, we have to take responsibility for what our children do,” Randy told ABC’s Strahan, Sara, and Keke.
“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.”
Three cheers for Randy, you’ve certainly set a brilliant example.
We just hope his daughter has learned a lesson she won’t have to be taught twice.
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