Mothers are always protective of their kids. They can turn into the fiercest dragon slayers when it comes to defending their child. But there comes a time when their children have to break out of their protective shell and stand up for themselves. And it’s parents who teach them to take a stand and win such fights.
That’s exactly what this Redditor did. When the bullies wouldn’t stop troubling her daughter at a camp, she encouraged her daughter to hit back with an insult using the main bully’s parents’ divorce. However, the camp counselor wasn’t pleased by the daughter’s behavior and called out her mom about it.
More info: Reddit
Daughter struggled with leukemia from the age of 5, losing hair due to chemo, and started wearing a baseball hat or beanie, but never got bullied for it in school
Image credits: National Cancer Institute (not the actual photo)
But when she enrolled for a summer camp, a clique of girls started harassing her for her baldness, right from the first day, and wouldn't stop
Image credits: Repulsive-Spring-611
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
The bullying got worse yet the camp counselor did nothing about it, so the mom asked her daughter to throw a personal insult using the bully's parents' divorce
Image credits: Repulsive-Spring-611
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
The bully was distraught so the camp counselor called out the mom for encouraging such habits, but the mom said she will not let her daughter be a punching bag and will teach her to fight back
Image credits: Repulsive-Spring-611
In this story, Reddit user Repulsive-Spring-611 begins by telling the readers about her 10-year-old daughter who started her struggle with leukemia at the tender age of 5. Thankfully, she’s nearing remission, but because of chemotherapy, she lost her hair. And like most of us, she felt self-conscious and also found wigs uncomfortable. But she has been fine wearing a baseball hat or beanie and so far had never been bullied for it in school.
This summer, she joined a YMCA day camp. But on her first day itself, she came home crying. It turns out that a clique of girls nicknamed her ‘Lex’ after the bald comic villain Lex Luthor. This seems like a very vicious thing to say to a small girl struggling with cancer. The mom got mad (like any mom would) and took up the issue with the camp counselor. He said that he talked with the girls and asked them to stop. But instead of stopping, it just got worse and turned into bullying where the girls invented a game of taking away the daughter's hat.
Research suggests that bullying is very common and one out of every five students has experienced bullying at some point. We know it sounds really shocking, but less than half the people who experience bullying dare to report it. It’s a good thing that the daughter told her mom about it. Sadly, the teen camp counselor didn’t do anything to stop the bullying that the little girl was facing. Now, what kind of mother would watch her daughter get bullied and do nothing about it? So, the poster thought of a smart way of dealing with it: the age-old trick of personal insults!
The main bully’s parents were going through quite a messy public divorce. And the mom told her daughter that if she got bullied again, she should throw an insult saying that the bully was the reason for the parents’ divorce and they wanted to get rid of her. It might sound harsh, but fellow Redditors agreed that harassing a kid with cancer was much worse.
The oldest trick in the book never fails and the insult hit the bully right where it was needed; she was inconsolable. The counselor was shocked by this and he confronted the mother and asked her not to encourage such things. He also mentioned that the girl was already stressed because of the divorce so she was lashing out at the daughter.
But the mom defended her daughter and expressed, “My daughter is not going to be a punching bag and I will continue to teach and encourage her to hit back.” Then she went on to Reddit and asked folks if she was a jerk for this. But reading about the bullying, Redditors applauded her for teaching her daughter to stand up for herself even if it meant insulting someone.
Image credits: Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)
Bullying is not something that should be taken lightly as it has quite a lasting impact on the victims. According to the National Library of Medicine, “Bullying has a big mental and emotional impact—victims feel unaccepted, isolated, angry, and withdrawn.” The daughter is already struggling with leukemia and to face bullying on top of it must be devastating for her mental health.
To get an insight from the mother, Bored Panda reached out to the original poster (OP). She mentioned that after the incident, the bully transferred to a different part of the camp. But thinking back about the harassment, she said, “The most challenging part was watching my daughter come home crying for three days straight. She’s already gone through enough with cancer, the bullying was just unnecessary stress during what was supposed to be a happy time.”
Everyone can agree and empathize with the mother and the fact that she empowered her child. Research has proven that getting bullied in childhood can have a lasting impact on the victim with problems arising in adulthood. It’s a good thing that the daughter spoke out about it and the mother actually did something to stop it at the earliest.
When asked about what advice she would like to give other parents stuck in a similar situation, OP said, “Help your child learn to stand up for themselves.” When children have full support from their parents during such tough and oppressive times, they can learn to fight their battles on their own and put such bad moments behind them.
Parenting is definitely tough and comes with tons of challenges. But you can always encourage your children to be independent. Do you agree or disagree? And now that you know the whole scenario, what do you have to say about this story? Tell us in the comments below.
Redditors declared that the mother was not in the wrong and that bullies don't understand until they get a taste of their own behavior
