We are confident that if we decide to select Matt Cox as our parent of the year, not everyone would agree with us. What he accomplished isn’t something most parents would be willing to do or support another parent in doing.
However, any parent who has had a child bullied in the past and been ignored by the parents of the offending child would almost certainly applaud Matt’s choice.
Making your child walk 5 kilometers to school isn’t fashionable parenting, but his gesture was intended to serve as a reminder to his daughter and perhaps inspire other parents about the importance of ensuring that their children become decent individuals.
Calling him too harsh is a little unfair, but Matt wasn’t the one who handed out the punishment for his daughter. One day she returned home from school and asked her father if he could lift her to school for the next two days. When asked why he responded that it was because of his rigorous standards.
Matt was shocked to learn that his daughter had been thrown off the school bus by the bus driver because she was bullying another student on it. Another option might be to let her ride with him every day to school, which may appear attractive to some parents, but Matt finds it unacceptable under his roof.
Harassment and bullying are both unethical and wrong. He had to make sure she understood that it was not acceptable behavior. As a result, he took her to school instead of driving her. Nonetheless, he drove behind her with his vehicle, ensuring that she got to school safely.
He also uploaded the clip on his Facebook account, along with a note for parents:
“I know a lot of you parents are not going to agree with this and that’s all right. I am doing what I think is right to teach my daughter a lesson to stop her from bullying…
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.”
Even though his decision was a difficult one and he knew many parents would not agree with his parenting technique, Matt told ABC news later that he loves his daughter and doesn’t want her to be a part of the problem. If being excluded from the bus for bullying is what it will teach his young daughter to be a nice young lady, then so be it. “Parents need to hold their kids accountable. So that was me showing how I hold my kid accountable.
I’m not going to be another parent that’s just going to brush things under the rug and say, ‘Kids will be kids. ’” he stated.
You may well realize at the end of the day that you agree with Matt on this. And, to be honest, we’re almost certain it will work as well. The Young lady’s next thought about picking on anybody will be of her long walk to school, and that should be enough to persuade her otherwise.
