Netizens were left in stitches following an Ohio dad’s attempt to teach his daughter an important life lesson and clamp down on bullying.
Facebook user Matt Cox stirred an online outrage after sharing a video of his daughter trekking miles to school on a cold day as punishment for bullying other kids on the school bus.
The clip, shared to his Facebook account in December 2018, showed the little girl walking down the roadside on her way to school while her dad followed closely behind in his vehicle.
The Ohio dad explained that his daughter’s bullying actions caused her to be barred from the school bus for weeks, leaving the responsibility of conveying her to school daily to him.
Cox recorded the clip while watching his daughter serve the controversial punishment he meted out to her. He captioned the post:
“Life Lessons!!!”
The clip instantly gained traction on Facebook, leaving most netizens outraged. Many netizens believed the punishment too extreme, especially for a little girl, while others lauded him for taking the initiative to curb bullying in his household.
However, the dad firmly believed such measures were necessary to educate his daughter properly and enable her to become a better person in the future.
In an updated post, the father confirmed his unconventional method of holding his daughter accountable proved effective. He captioned:
“Lesson learned! Still has her extremities intact, is happy and healthy, and seems to have a new outlook on bullying as well as a new appreciation for some of the simple things in life she used to take for granted.”
Despite his update, several Facebook users still insisted he went too far in dealing with the situation.
Some implied his methods may result in severe emotional damage or affect his daughter’s mental health in the future. Condemning the dad’s actions, one wrote:
“She bullied and then you bullied her? huh!? I wonder where she learned it.”
Another user noted that the only lesson to be learned from the dad’s action was that bullying was conditional. The comment read:
“I guess what you are doing is teaching your daughter that she can’t bully anyone as long as you are following her while walking to school.”
However, most people gave the Ohio dad the thumbs up, commending him for taking such effective actions.
Some even admitted to applying such correctional methods on their kids at some point in their parenting journey. A commenter wrote:
“More kids need to learn a hard lesson. Good job dad.”
Meanwhile, one Facebook user’s comment implied the clip was a publicity stunt, betting that the man picked his daughter up as soon as he finished recording.
In a follow-up interview, the little girl admitted to falling victim to bullying at some point as well. However, her dad’s well-timed lesson taught her to be kind.
Irrespective of his intentions, Cox’s anti-bullying message to his daughter, other parents, and the rest of the world undoubtedly held some truth.