She had been kicked off the school bus several times and even got suspended from riding it to school again, but she didn't care. She knew her dad had a car, and he would drive her anywhere she pleased.
One day, she came home and said: “Daddy, You’re gonna have to take me to school next week.” But she wasn't prepared for what happened next.
A Bully
Kirsten was a 10-year-old girl from Ohio who had been kicked off the school bus for bullying a classmate. Her father, Matt Cox, was upset with her.
"Let me make this extremely clear, bullying is unacceptable, especially in my household,” he said. Matt was about to teach his daughter a very valuable lesson.
Walking Instead Of Riding
Matt believed that being kicked off the bus for bullying a classmate does not make you entitled to car rides. His daughter was capable of walking to and from school.
Matt split the walk up over the three days of suspension, so Kirsten had to walk 1.5 miles for three consecutive days in the 36 degrees cold weather.
Some Time to Think
Matt wanted to make it clear to his daughter that bullying wasn't acceptable in his family. He hoped this would give her some time to reflect on her actions.
However, he wasn't about to compromise the safety of his 'beautiful girl,' so he drove behind her all the way. “Parents need to hold their kids accountable, so that was me showing how I am holding my kid accountable," he explained.
Matt's Opinion On The Matter
Matt went on to say: “A lot of children today feel that the things their parents do for them is a right and not a privilege, such as parents taking their children to school in the morning."
"Or even bus rides to school in the morning. All of that is a privilege and should be treated as such. So today, my beautiful daughter is going to walk five miles to school in 36-degree weather.”
Recorded
Matt recorded little Kirsten walking to school every morning while following her in his car and gave commentary on what he wanted her to learn from the punishment.
“I know a lot of you parents are not going to agree with this, and that’s all right,” he said. Then, he did something unexpected.
Viral
Matt posted the recording to his Facebook account, thinking only his friends would see it. But then, one of his Facebook friends asked Matt to make his post sharable so he could share it on his page.
His video received over 350,000 shares, 15 million views, and over 100,000 comments!
The Reactions
Matt later explained in an interview that one morning he woke up to hundreds of messages in his inbox. While some supported his decision, others thought it was "too much."
Matt said that Kirsten was upset when he told her she had to walk to school from now on. During the walk, he explained why he was forcing her to walk to school.
The Reason
By the end of the walk, Kirsten calmed down and realized that bullying people isn't a good thing to do. “I am doing what I think is right to teach my daughter a lesson to stop her from bullying," Matt explained.
"Parents need to hold their kids accountable. I’m not going to be another parent that’s just going to brush things under the rug."
Not The Only One
“I just want the kids to know that words truly do hurt. They cut very deep and have lasting effects," Matt continued.
It turns out that Matt wasn't the only one who had used this kind of punishment on their child. A 10-year-old boy from Virginia was also forced to walk to school for an entire week by his father, Bryan Thornhill.
“You better listen to your dad, 2018"
Bryan's son was also banned from the school bus for bullying a child. He named the video “You better listen to your dad, 2018." It received even more comments, views, and shares than Matt's video.
In the video, Bryan's son can be seen walking to school with his dad driving right behind him. So what did people think of the punishment?
Mixed Reactions
“Love it!! I plan on showing this to my oldest child to show her that I am not a mean parent but that misbehaving won’t be tolerated. I’m not doing my job if I just let it slide," one person wrote.
“Makes sense why his kid is a bully… who knows, maybe it will work for this kid, but it wouldn’t for many that I have worked with. In fact, it could make him act out more," another person commented.
It Worked
Despite the divided opinions, it seems that the punishment has worked for both kids.
“This right here is just simple. Ironically, since he’s been running to school this week, his behavior has been better, his teachers have approved of his behavior this week, and he hasn’t gotten in trouble, whereas last week he was just absolutely out of his mind,” Bryan said. But what about Kirsten?
An Update
Matt made an update, saying, “Life lessons!!!!” “UPDATE: lesson learned! Still has all 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.”
He even used some of the comments to educate his daughter on the effects of bullying.
Improvement
”She, along with my other two children, seem to show a great deal of empathy towards some of the sad stories that I read with them,” Matt wrote.
“I also hope that parents see the video and start holding their kids accountable for their actions and stop sweeping their child’s actions under the rug with the ideology that kids will be kids. We as parents need to stop the bullying on the home front because bullying only breeds bullying." What do you think of Matt's decision?