I Found Out My Daughter Was Bullying Another Girl over Her Hair and Addressed It with a Teachable Moment

An Atlanta resident has received lots of praise and attention on social media for how she handled her daughter's bullying of another little girl. The parent didn't physically punish the child but made her buy some items to apologize properly to the bullied girl.

On February 7, 2024, a social media user named Dominique "Nique" Mackey took to TikTok to share a life lesson she gave her daughter, Zariah. In the post's caption, she revealed that she always tells her children that they never know what someone is going through at home or what they deal with daily.

She urges them to always be kind to everyone because how they treat that person can affect their mental health. The social media user also informed them that everything one has can be taken as fast as it is received, so being humble is essential.

In the TikTok clip, her daughter was seen in a Target store with Dominique sharing that the little girl decided to be a "follower" and bullied another child that day. The Atlanta woman's daughter did this knowing how much her mother despised bullies, adding:

"This is how we apologize in our household (sic)."

The mother and daughter pair chose several items like a notebook, facial care products, toys, candy, a balloon, stuffed toys, an apology card, and more to create a gift basket for the bullied child. Inside the card, Dominique's daughter apologized for being mean to the other girl and talking badly about her hair.

Zariah confessed that the girl she'd bullied is a "wonderful friend" to her and apologized for her actions. Two days after her post went up, Dominique posted an update on her Instagram account, surprised by how her post went viral.

She'd also posted videos showing what happened when Zariah presented her bullied friend with flowers and the gift basket. The bullied girl was seen reading her friend's card before Dominique called the girl's mother wanting to know if she could give her Zariah's hair appointment that had been paid in advance.

The parent explained that she'd told Zariah that she would give her hair appointment spot away since the little girl wanted to be a bully. The bullied girl's mother seemed surprised by the gesture. The next video on Dominique's Instagram was of a TikToker talking about how Zariah's mother handled her daughter's bullying incident.

Dominique also showed off a screenshot of someone who messaged her saying she's an "amazing mother" and her videos made the viewer cry. The next few screenshots were of more people praising Zariah's mother's parenting skills, with the last one being an invite to the "Hey There Parenthood" podcast to tell her story.

"I’m over here in tears."

A TikTok user who saw the original clip replied in the comment section asking Dominique if her daughter was "really sorry" for what she did. The viewer felt that was all that truly mattered. The person also noted that friends who gifted her with some items were her biggest bullies, prompting Zariah's mother to reply:

"She’s not a bad kid at all she was just hanging around the wrong crowd that’s all. Her apology was sincere."

Other comments from TikTok users included someone who said, "I grew up getting bullied and this made me tear up a bit, to see a parent raising their kid right."

"We need more parents like you!! You didn’t make excuses for your child’s bad choice, but turned it into a learning opportunity for her!" replied someone who celebrated Dominique's efforts.

"As a girl who grew up getting bullied this warms my heart. As a kid I was taught to be quiet and take it. More kids need to be raised like this," commented another viewer who related to the child bullied by Zariah.

Someone else noted, "Bullying is a childhood trauma. I am so glad you got straight to work with helping your baby recognize the seriousness of it all. You are so Dope."

On Instagram, Dominique received praise with a viewer stating, "I’m over here in tears. I work with kids so I teach them the same exact thing. You are such a amazing (sic) woman & Mother continue to be great mama."

"Love…. love…. LOVE THIS! There are so many bullies nowadays and parents who don’t hold them accountable. This is parenting! This is how you hold your child accountable for their actions!" shared another Instagram user.

If that story warmed your heart, click here to read about a child who was bullied for his birthday party's cake and how the community showed up for him.