Father Takes Bullying Victim on Shopping Trip to Teach His Daughter a Heartfelt Lesson in Kindness

Bullying is a major concern. According to DoSomething.org, one out of every five adolescents aged 12 to 18 in the United States is bullied during the school year, and roughly 160,000 youths have skipped school due to bullying.

So when Randy Smalls of South Carolina discovered that his teenage daughter was mocking a classmate for her clothes and makeup, he immediately acted.

Smalls immediately felt sympathy for Ryan Reese, a seventh-grader at Berkeley Middle School who had been bullied in his adolescence. So he took the money intended for his kid and went shopping with Ryan to buy some new clothes and a makeover.

Smalls’ wife and Ryan’s mother, Richauna Reese, are friends, but they were unaware of the bullying until lately. After conversing with Ryan, the families called, and Smalls asked if he could take Ryan shopping and to the beauty parlor for a makeover.

Smalls originally intended to use the money to buy new clothes for his 13-year-old daughter, but after learning about her bullying, he opted to spend it on Ryan.

“I say, ‘When you laugh along, you’re co-signing the bullying,” Smalls told Yahoo News.

“My daughter was upset, especially because she is into fashion,” he told me. “So she came with us and helped pick out Ryan’s new clothes.”

While his daughter was at church, Smalls took Ryan to the beauty salon and paid for two sessions per month until the end of the year.

Following Ryan’s kind act, local salons have offered to keep him looking beautiful for the next six months.

Ryan’s mother, Richauna, told Yahoo News that her daughter was struggling following the deaths of her father, grandparents, and aunt, as well as stress-related non-epileptic seizures.

Ryan benefited greatly from his shopping expedition. “I didn’t expect it. I just started crying. It (bullying) was very terrible for me since I had recently lost my grandfather, father, and aunt, and it pushed me farther into melancholy,” Ryan added.

“This is the first time I have seen a parent take such a stance on bullying,” she said.

Smalls was overwhelmed by the response, which he claims has helped his daughter see her error.

“I didn’t expect this to get big but I’m glad if other parents [can learn from it],” Smalls told me. “My daughter learned her lesson.”

“As parents, we have to take responsibility for what our children do,” Smalls explained to ABC’s Strahan, Sara, and Keke. “We can instruct our children, but they may deviate slightly when they are with other youngsters. When such situations arise, we must act as parents rather than friends.”

And the encounter seemed to have improved the pair’s relationship. “They’re cool now,” Richauna explained.