High school is not the easiest phase in life. Teens are in that awkward stage where they're not quite sure who they are yet and it's hard to stand up against things they know are wrong. Bullying is, unfortunately, still something many teens have to deal with, and it can be relentless. One family is dealing with school bullying because their high school daughter was recently on the receiving end of cruel words and humiliation. The worst part? Her older brother knows what she's been going through and hasn't really stepped in. It's been hard for the family, but there's something the parents don't see eye-to-eye on.
One dad had a question about how his family is dealing with bullying, so he took to Reddit to ask advice.
Posting in Reddit's AITA community, the dad started with a little backstory on his family before going into his question.
"My daughter (14) and my son (15) attend the same high school and have schedules that make it so they cross paths a lot," he wrote. "My daughter has been getting picked on and bullied at school and my wife and I are working with the school to take justice."
The situation with his daughter at school escalated.
"My daughter came home crying the other day because people were calling her names in the hallway and humiliating her and my son just walked by and didn't help," the dad shared.
"I was more furious at the people picking on her than her brother while my wife was super angry with him."
And mom and dad didn't see eye-to-eye on what really happened.
The dad explained that his son got home "about two hours later that day" and his wife had "an angry talk with him."
"She was saying it's [unaccept]table and cruel, while he said he didn't want to lose his friends, get bullied, or get involved in general," the dad wrote.
Mom was really upset and so the two had a private conversation.
"She was livid and we started speaking in private," the dad wrote. "She wanted to punish him, I didn't. While I think it's very a—h-le-ish what he did, it was no need for a punishment. She disagreed and said we would talk later. My children don't hate each other or have a bad relationship but they certainly aren't friends nor hang out very much."
The dad admitted he could be in the wrong but wanted to see what the community thought.
"Gentle YTA you should teach your son to stand up for anyone being bullied especially his sister," one person shared in the comments. "So yes I think a light discipline is warranted."
"A conversation? Yes, absolutely," another person wrote but didn't think much more should come. "Discipline? No. This is just a fantastic way to make him resent his sister. Don’t do this unless you want her to be bullied even more."
"At first I wanted to say he isn’t his sister’s keeper but the more I thought about it I went back to when I was bullied in school," shared another Redditor. "I think sitting there and letting someone get bullied is almost as bad as being a bully yourself."
"What a sad situation," admitted another person. "As an older sibling I gotta say I can’t relate to your son. I am not a parent so I won’t pass a judgement but I would have been ashamed to have done nothing for my siblings."
Here's to hoping these two teens stick together and learn to stand by one another when the going gets tough.
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