A viral video seen by more than 25 million people over the course of a few days, shows a 10-year-old girl walking five miles to school, in the cold.  The man who posted the video is the father of a girl who has been kicked off the school bus not once, but twice, for bullying another student.  Watch the video and decide for yourself whether or not you feel this particular style of parenting is effective.

Matt Cox from Ohio, is the father of a 10 year-old girl and he's fed-up with her bullying ways as per his commentary in the video:

"A little background into this video that’s being shot this morning. This lovely lady is my 10-year-old daughter, who has for the second time this school year been kicked off the school bus due to bullying another student. Let me make this extremely clear. Bullying is unacceptable. Especially in my household."

-Matt Cox, Fed-Up Facebook dad

Part of me wants to applaud this man for doing what he did.  He's the father and he's responsible for her actions and he thinks she needs to learn a tough lesson.  He doesn't appear to be berating her or abusing her in any way, and she seems to be dressed warm enough to handle the cold temps.

The other part of me wonders why the dad felt the need to make the extra step, and film the ordeal. Creating the video of his daughter (to be viewed by hundreds or millions) is a move designed to shame her, which I feel is unnecessary.

Here's why:

If a parent needs to employ some tough love every now again, so be it.  That's your prerogative as a parent and I would never judge you for it.  However, if the tough love that you do in private is unsuccessful, what makes you think that doing it publicly is any more effective?

In this fathers case, he was using his daughter's punishment as a way of showing his no-nonsense approach to bullying, and I suppose there's something useful about that.  I just doubt that kids are going to watch that video and think,  "Geez, I guess I shouldn't bully anymore!"

Either you're a bully or you're not.  Either you think about the ramifications of bullying or you don't.  I highly doubt this video will prevent any more acts of bullying.  But I hope I'm wrong.

Either way, this man is entitled to his own way of disciplining his child and I hope she's learned once and for all, NOT to do it.

 

 

More From 107.7 WGNA