Bullying can be a tough topic for many parents to tackle, but one Arizona dad decided to take a different approach to the situation.
When 9-year-old Bodi Irvine finished an evening homework session with his mom, he said he needed to talk about something. He told his parents that earlier that day, he was bullied at school for having long hair.
This was the first time Isaac Irvine — the father of long-haired twin boys — had been confronted with the issue.
“It really threw me off. I wasn’t even remotely prepared for it,” he told Care.com. “After homework, it can be pretty chaotic in our house, so I took Bodi into the bathroom and pulled out my phone and said, ‘Hey, let’s record this.'”
The phone helped put Bodi at ease. In the video, the boy tells his father that he was made fun of for having long hair because he “looks like a girl.”
“I wanted Bodi to walk away from our conversation and have him feel like he was able to do this,” Irvine said. “If I solve this problem for him, then he’s going to look to me to solve everything. I want him to be able to have confidence in himself to stick by his decisions and what he thinks is right, not because someone else thinks it’s cool.”
Bodi, along with his identical twin brother, began growing out his hair last year to donate to cancer patients in need. Irvine said he hopes his video inspires parents to be open and transparent with their children when it comes to bullying.
“As a parent, the responsibility of raising kids is on us,” he said. “I’m sad this happened to my son, but it’s important for parents to be vulnerable and have those moments with kids. I’m wingin’ it with parenthood a lot of the time because it can be difficult. Lead with your heart and listen with your ears because kids are pretty remarkable.”
After a productive talk with pops, Bodi decided to embrace his 10-inch-long blond locks. He still has a little way to go before he donates it, but let’s give this boy and his inspirational father a round of applause!
