One of the worst fears that a parent can have is that their child will be bullied.
Well, when one father found out that his daughter had been teasing another girl, he set out to show her the error of her ways.
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One father from South Carolina decided to teach his daughter an important lesson.
Randy Smalls, father-of-three, discovered that his daughter and her friends had been making fun of a classmate of theirs.
Apparently, the girls had been laughing at their classmate’s clothes.
Smalls used this opportunity to show his daughter the importance of kindness.
Smalls told Yahoo that he explained to his daughter that even laughing along is a form of bullying. “I say, ‘When you laugh along, you’re co-signing the bullying.'”
This was an issue that Smalls had a good reason to feel strongly about.
He revealed that he had been bullied as a child, which meant he truly empathized with the young girl who had been teased.
Smalls reached out to the young girl’s family.
As it turned out, Smalls and the victim’s mother knew each other, but the pair were unaware of the trouble.
Smalls contacted the mother of the girl who had been bullied, seventh-grader Ryan Reese.
His plan was to invite her daughter to a day out to get some new clothes — with money he had been planning on spending on his daughter.
So, the three of them went shopping.
“I wanted to help Ryan so she wouldn’t have this issue anymore,” Smalls explained.
When his daughter learned that Ryan would be getting new clothes, she was upset, but understood the point of the lesson.
As he said, “My daughter was upset, especially because she is into fashion. So, she came with us and helped pick out Ryan’s new clothes.”
However, Smalls didn’t just get Ryan new clothes.
Smalls treated Ryan to a day at a salon where she got a makeover and her hair done.
Furthermore, Smalls paid for Ryan to have her hair done at the salon for the rest of the year.
As he said, “We got her hair done and we’ll be paying for twice-a-month appointments until the end of the year.”
Smalls’ shared an image of Ryan to his Facebook to share the lesson.
Alongside the image, Smalls wrote:
“Y’all meet my new friend Ryan. This is how I met her. My daughter and a few of her classmates thought it was fun or funny to pick on Ryan last week. Ryan’s mom reached out to me about my daughter’s actions towards Ryan and we became friends just that fast. They picked on her because of how she dressed, her shoes and hair.
“So being that I DON’T like bullying, I decided to take my daughter’s money and took Ryan shopping and to get her hair done so my daughter and her fellow classmates will not have anything to pick on Ryan about again. Matter fact every time Reonna gets her hair done Ryan will too.”
Ryan’s mother said that the gesture meant a lot to Ryan.
Richauna, Ryan’s mother had been struggling with various deaths in their family, including her father, aunt, and grandfather. However, apparently the shopping spree helped to cheer up young Ryan.
Richauna expressed her thanks to Smalls for his actions, saying, “This is the first time I have seen a parent take such a stance on bullying” to Yahoo.
Smalls has continued his anti-bullying work.
As a result of the traction his and Ryan’s story received, according to WSFA , Smalls has been working to start a movement called Parents Against Bullying. He is apparently also working closely with Berkeley County Beats Bullying and Communities Against Violence Everywhere.
Lots of parents have praised Smalls for his actions.
Smalls’ post about Ryan and her makeover has since gained over 6,000 likes and over 2,000 shares.
And their enthusiasm is reflected in their comments.
Those who heard about the story have written such positive things as:
“A tremendous lesson to both children and adults! God bless you!”
“Great job. And I pray that they become friends and others learn from that.”
Apparently the pair have since become friends.
Thankfully the pair have apparently put their differences behind them now, which would suggest that Smalls’ lesson has paid off.
Hopefully, this positive message of kindness will inspire other parents in similarly difficult situations.
