The harsh lesson a mother who found out her stepdaughter had been a bully decided to teach her will never be forgotten by the girl, and it no doubt taught her about the true meaning of empathy.
Parenthood sometimes lands parents between a rock and a hard place, leaving them no choice but to take drastic steps. Some let the love for their kids blind them, but others, like the Utah mom who went viral in 2013 for punishing her bully stepdaughter after hearing what she did to another child.
Ally Olsen was a mom to Kaylee, a great fan of fashion. Her passion for fashion was, in fact, so great that she seemed unable to tolerate seeing what she considered “sleazy” fashion.
One day, Kaylee’s school informed Ally that her then 10-year-old stepdaughter had been teasing her fellow fourth-grader because of how she dressed, calling her “ugly” and “mean.”
It had become a habit of hers, and it became so recurrent the other girl lost interest in attending class. The news horrified Ally, and she quickly made her feelings known.
It put Kaylee in the girl’s shoes, and she felt the full brunt of the same ridicule she had been giving out.
After Ally heard the news of the horrible crimes her stepdaughter had been perpetuating, she was greatly angered. In the face of her wrath, Kaylee showed little remorse, but Ally felt that she still needed something to drive home the point.
Ally somehow knew the best punishment that would show her stepdaughter the true horror of her crimes, and she didn’t hesitate to mete it out—with love, of course.
Ally took Kaylee to a thrift store and made her pick out the ugliest clothes, all of which she would wear to school for two days. It put Kaylee in the girl’s shoes, and she felt the full brunt of the same ridicule she had been giving out. The young girl expressed:
“I [was] like, why would they do that to me, I’m still a normal person. It doesn’t matter what you wear.”
Ally had achieved her goal, and Kaylee had learned empathy, which made her stepmom happier. Ally said:
“If she chooses to be a bully after this, then at some point in her life, she’s going to be on the other side and she’ll know what it really feels like.”
She also admitted how difficult it was for her to see Kaylee pass through the crucible, saying, “And I think now that she knows what it feels like, and she doesn’t want to be that person anymore because she knows how hurtful it is.”
What are your thoughts on this story? In your opinion, are public punishments too harsh? Was Kaylee’s lesson too much? Or would that simple confrontation have done it?
Either way, one thing is sure, empathy is a good thing to teach children because they will be the better for it, and everyone can rest easy knowing they are not out there causing damage to another kid.