Parents might not want to think about it or talk about it, but at some point, their children are going to make some mistakes, and the true test of their parenting is how they respond in those moments.
So when TikToker @maggieeatsss found out that her son had been bullying a kid at school, she knew there was no time to waste.
Though she usually uses her platform to share funny and heartwarming family stories, the TikToker instead used her platform in one of her latest videos to talk about bullying and the role parents play in that.
TikToker @maggieeatsss recounted:
"I share a lot of the funny things that [my son] William says and does, but I feel compelled to share this, because this side of parenting sucks."
"This morning, I go and drop him off at school, and his teacher comes up to me and says, 'Hey, I need to let you know something.'"
"She says, 'So we've got a more emotional kid in our class.'"
The TikToker clearly felt the dread creeping in as the teacher continued.
"And she says, 'Um, and Will has been, unprovokingly, calling him a crybaby to get him to cry."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"So my kid's being a bully."
"I've never felt in any kind of situation like I've wanted to whoop my kid's a** in front of people until that moment."
The TikToker responded to the problem in the moment, instead of waiting until later.
"I took a breath, and I pulled up a little chair, [got on my kid's level], and I said, 'Come here, buddy, we're gonna talk.'"
"Because I'm not raising an a**hole."
"I said, 'Did you do that?' He said, 'I did.'"
"He's on the verge of tears, and I hate leaving him at school when he's upset, but I don't care."
"So I said, 'You're going to find him this morning, and you are going to apologize.'"
"'I don't want to hear anything else, I don't want to hear that you've been mean to this kid at all anymore.'"
"'And Daddy's going to pick you up after school, and he is going to check in with your teacher.'"
The TikToker and her husband created a united front on the issue.
"The one thing I do not stand as a parent is raising a bully. It ain't happening here."
"So then my husband goes and picks him up after school and has a chat with the teacher."
"It turns out, he's just not been very good, not playing well, and provoking this kid to cry by calling him a crybaby."
"So my husband comes home with Will, and Will is again on the verge of tears, and my husband's pissed."
"We decided, 'Okay, bud, you get to go pick out a toy, and we're donating your favorite toy. Because you don't get to do that. You don't get to treat people that way.'"
"So he had to pick out his favorite toy and donate it. We'll just have to keep donating toys until he can figure this out."
"Hopefully this is it, because I'm nipping this sh*t in the bud right now."
You can watch the video here:
Fellow TikTokers agreed with TikToker @maggieeatsss's sentiment about getting along with other students.
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Some applauded the TikToker taking responsibility for starting positive behaviors at home.
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Though the TikToker and her husband might feel terrible about this right now, wondering where the behavior came from, they did the right thing by reacting to the situation as soon as it was discovered.
This was an important lesson for their son, not only about actions having consequences, but about the deeper repercussions of bullying and hurting people.
@SenTinaSmith/X