Ohio father makes daughter walk five miles to school in freezing weather after she was thrown off bus for bullying

A father in Ohio made his daughter walk five miles to school because she bullied another child
Matt Cox/Facebook
Katy Clifton6 December 2018

A frustrated father whose daughter was kicked off the school bus for bullying forced her to walk five miles in freezing weather to teach her a life lesson.

Matt Cox, from Swanton, said that his 10-year-old daughter was suspended from the school bus in Ohio for the second time on Friday because she was found bullying another student.

The dad then decided to teach his daughter a lesson by making her march five miles along the road to school in freezing weather, a move which has divided opinions on social media.

In a viral Facebook post which has been shared more than 330,000 times, Mr Cox said: “This lovely lady is my 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.

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

“Today my beautiful daughter is going to walk five miles to school in 36-degree weather."

He added: “I know a lot of you parents are not going to agree with this but that is alright because I’m doing what I feel is right to teach my daughter a lesson and to stop her from bullying.”

The video, which now has more than 15 million views, was posted on Facebook under the caption "Life lessons".

Speaking as his daughter walks ahead, he adds: “A lot of children today feel like the things their parents do for them is a right and not a privilege, such as parents taking their children to school in the morning or even bus rides to school.

"All of that is a privilege and should be treated as such.”

Some applauded Mr Cox for his actions, with one commenting: “Awesome job. As a substitute teacher, I see that lack of parenting is one of the biggest problems we have today.”

“Parenting done right, hold them accountable,” another said.

A 10-year-old girl walked five miles to school after being kicked off the school bus for bullying
Matt Cox/Facebook

However, others accused him of “stupidity”, with another writing: “I think this is mean and hateful of a parent. You must feel great of yourself for posting this of your beautiful child, shame on you.”

In an update on Monday, Mr Cox stood by his actions and said that his daughter had learned her lesson and “still has all her extremities intact and is happy and healthy”.

He added: “She 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.”

Speaking to WTVG-TV, he said: “Parents need to hold their kids accountable. 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.”

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