Dad teaches his bullying daughter a lesson by making her walk 8km to school

A father has parents across the internet divided after sharing a video of his 10-year-old daughter’s punishment for bullying, which quickly went viral on Facebook.

Matt Cox is a father of four from Ohio, US, who doesn’t mess around when it comes to teaching his children a lesson.

After his daughter Kirsten got suspended from riding the bus for a second time as a result of her bullying another child, Matt decided he wasn’t going to give in to her request that he give her a ride.

Instead, he would make her walk to school.

“This lovely lady is my 10-year-old daughter, who has for the second time this school year been kicked off of the school bus due to bullying another student,” Matt narrated the video of him trailing his daughter to school.

“Friday when my daughter brought home her paperwork for her bus suspension, she said, ‘Daddy you’re gonna have to take me to school next week.’ As you see this morning, she is learning otherwise.”

The two-minute video showing Kirsten on her 8km walk in two-degree weather has been viewed over 16.5 million times. And naturally, parents have differing opinions about the punishment.

“Parent however you wish, but is humiliating your child on social media necessary,” one person wrote.

Others, however, praised the father for a job well done.

“I love how you followed her to make sure she was safe while still teaching a lesson. Tough love, indeed,” was one response.

“I believe when she is older she will be thankful for this lesson you’ve taught her,” another person wrote.

Matt acknowledged that not all parents would agree with his choice of punishment, but that “is alright because I am doing what I feel is right to teach my daughter a lesson and to stop her from bullying”.

Ultimately, one parent agreed, “Your child, your choice of punishment.”

Matt hopes that children and parents alike start to take the threat of bullying more seriously.

“I just want the kids to know that words truly do hurt; they cut very deep and have lasting effects,” Matt told Ohio news station WTVG. “And I hope that parents hold their kids accountable.”

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