Follow
The school bus. It can bring even the most confident kid to their knees in fear. My daughter is one of the most put together young ladies I have ever had the pleasure to meet, however several years ago, it was the school bus that sent her into a tizzy.
She was in second grade, “the bully” who we will call Meanie Pants was in third and for some reason, he decided to make her the target for his taunts, pushes and pokes.
At first she tried to let it slide and not share what was happening on the bus, but as time went on, we could see something was up and it wasn’t good.
She finally told us about Meanie Pants what he was doing and how she no longer wanted to ride the bus. As a super protective DAD, my first instinct was to drive to Meanie Pants house, kick in the door and go all Rambo on him and his entire family.
MOM had a better plan. She told our daughter that if Meanie Pants did anything again to tell the bus driver, if it didn’t stop she should tell her teacher, we weren’t going to get involved unless we had to. The “hope” was that it would stop and she would learn a lesson about self-reliance.
That was the “hope” despite my daughters best efforts,Meanie Pants continued to bully her. She did what we discussed. She told the bus driver, she told the teacher, the teacher spoke to Meanie Pants and his parents and it still continued. Meanie Pants was hell bent on making my daughter’s life miserable.
We had tried to go through the proper channels to solve this problem and it didn’t work. No parent wants to see their child suffer, but when it’s a father and his daughter, it cuts to the bone. I was patient and tried to let time and diplomacy do its job, it didn’t work, it was now time to teach her how to defend herself.
I have watched enough Oxygen and Dateline to know that a loud scream and a kick in the balls is a quick deterrent to an attacker. That and being on the receiving end of a few kicks to the goods, I know it’s not a pleasant experience.
It was time to take the bully down. It’s the rule of the playground (at least for boys) if you get the crap kicked out of you by a girl or a smaller boy, your reign of terror is over. No questions asked.
Step #1- Padding up- Cups don’t do it. I took our largest bedroom pillow put it between my legs and then duct taped it around my waist. A few test punches to my own groin proved that I could take a hit (again weird but necessary), we were off to the back yard.
Step #2- Teaching My Daughter to Kick Me In The Balls- “Honey, it’s OK, I want you to scream as loud as you can Stop It Meanie Pants, you can’t do that to me!”
Her reaction; giggling and blushing.
“Again, baby, it’s OK, I want you to yell as loud as you can and then kick me in the junk!”
A squeak and a half effort was all that she could muster. It went on like this for about an hour, before she got so mad at me, a massive bark came out of her mouth and she blasted me in the goods. We did it again and again and again. I was very happy to have a pillow blocking the shots.
As a side note, between my son walking around talking about bl## jobs and me screaming to my daughter to kick me in the junk, I am beginning to understand why my neighbor wants nothing to do with us.
She was ready. Then we had to set the rules. She has just learned how to use a super power that has taken down the “mighty man” since the dawn of time.
I explained to her that kicking a boy in that area hurts, a lot and she should never do it for fun, it is a last ditch effort to protect herself. “If Meanie Pants bullies you again, you ask him to stop it. If he continues, you warn him that you are going to make him stop. If he continues, you let him have it.”
As expected, Meanie Pants didn’t give in and my tiny little second grade princess yelled at the top of her lungs and let fly on his third grade “parts.”
The phone call came from her teacher quickly. She told me what my daughter had done and how “that kind of behavior isn’t tolerated.” Before she could go on any further, I cut her off and made it clear what I did and I was 100% behind her actions.
There was a pause on the other end and then the teacher spoke “he had it coming, thank you for your time.” With that she hung up and the conversation was over.
I am not a violent guy, I don’t believe in an eye for an eye, but… there are times when you have to learn how to defend yourself and this was one of those times.
Meanie Pants never bothered her again, she learned how to defend herself and learned lesson in life. As she has grown and headed out onto her own a little here and a little there to the mall or a movie with friends, I am glad she knows how to defend herself. If she never uses it again, I will be thrilled.
To date, no other boy has been a victim to her “lessons,” however her little brother is getting close.
For more DAD tips stories and ideas, LIKE our Facebook page, it’s fun and nice and will never give you a rash:)
Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, doesn’t get weird or annoying, it makes our boss happy and you can opt out at any time.
