While being bullied is often hurtful – this being the very incentive of a bully – it doesn’t have to end there! Despite the bullying side trying their best to make their victim feel helpless, often due to their own insecurities, challenging situations many times are also great opportunities to grow some important character traits in those who are facing them. And this Redditor’s mom knew it when she managed to deal with her daughter’s bullies in quite an unexpected and awesome way, inspiring her daughter and leaving a heartwarming trace in her memory.

More info: Reddit

Two boys from the sixth grade kept bullying a girl from the second grade for two months but came to regret it later

Image credits: Dele Oke (not the actual photo)

The girl was waiting for the school bus when the boys started calling her names regarding her weight and calling her weird

Image credits: u/Girlgamer2890

Image credits: Mary Taylor (not the actual photo)

Image credits: u/Girlgamer2890

The boys kept bullying the girl every time they were at the bus stop and it continued for two months

Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)

One afternoon the boys pretended to be sucked in by something, implying she was as big as a planet

A woman shared her story from over 10 years ago with the Reddit community online, which despite the fuzzy details stayed with her as a nice memory.

The story took place when the woman was in a second grade and was taking the bus to get to school. However, starting one morning, the older brother of a girl she knew but wasn’t on good terms with and his friend, who were in sixth grade at the time, decided they would bully her every time they waited for the bus.

It started out by calling the girl names regarding her weight and calling her weird. By the time it had gone on for two months, the boys hadn’t stopped the bullying, and it was only getting worse. Even though it hurt her, she never showed it.

It was just another afternoon when the girl was waiting for her mom and trying to ignore the boys, smushing berries from the bush beside the school doors with her fingers. She heard laughing as the brother of her acquaintance grabbed onto one of the pillars and pretended as if he was being sucked in by something.

That something was supposed to represent the girl, as the boy said, “She has her own gravitational pull!” and some other things that implied she was as big as a planet. His friend had joined in at that point.

The girl’s mom asked what was wrong, and the girl “completely broke” explaining through sobs what happened

Image credits: Engin Akyurt (not the actual photo)

The girl’s mom was seeing red – she contacted the bus coordinator and managed to get the boys kicked off the bus for the rest of the year

The girl tried to hold it together, but she couldn’t, as she cried in silence. When her mom pulled up and the girl got in the car, she asked her what was wrong, and the girl “completely broke”. She explained through sobs that the boys who were still at the bus stop were bullying her.

The woman cannot remember all the details, but she likes to imagine that her mom was seeing red, as she called the bus coordinator, and a few days later the boys stopped showing up at the bus stop, as the girl’s mother managed to get them kicked off the bus for the rest of the year.

Sharon Saline for Additude discussed demarcating gentle ribbing from full-on bullying. Saline explained that while teasing is often done with humor, is reciprocal, doesn’t affect self-esteem, and will stop when it is no longer fun, taunting involves ill will and continues or even escalates after the recipient is hurt or asks for the taunting to stop.

Saline also noted that bullying can be both physical and non-physical when it is done through relational aggression – starting rumors, spreading gossip, and getting people to “gang up” on others.

While the motivation of a bully may include a desire to fit in or be accepted by a certain group of people, feeling peer pressure, using it as a defense mechanism, or an expectation to increase social status, Saline listed steps for dealing with a bully.

These included encouraging a child to speak up in non-provocative ways to assert strength, reminding a child that he is not alone, and creating a safety plan that includes such details as whom to talk to and how to minimize reacting in such situations.

Redditors shared their takes on the situation

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