When Meghan Hendrix’s son Tanner came home and told her he’d been bullied, she was devastated.
“This absolutely broke my mama’s heart,” Tanner said after he told what had happened.
One of his fellow students had not only stolen his shoes from him but he then tossed them in the toilet.
“I was in PE and I came to get dressed into the locker room and I can’t find my shoes,” he said. “And I just went to the toilet and they were there.”
After all of the discussions we’ve had about bullying and the effect it has on children long-term, it still happens. And we can’t imagine what possesses a person – even a child – to do such a thing.
Meghan Hendrix told USA Today’s Humankind that normally people at school watch out for Tanner.
Unfortunately, no one was there to shield him from it that day.
But when Skyler, a senior at the school and Tanner’s best friend, heard about it, he wanted to help.
He hadn’t been there to stop the bullying while it happened, but he felt like he could do something after the fact to show Tanner that he saw his pain and wanted to help him feel better.
Hendrix’s Facebook post went viral for the story and the security video that was included showing Skylar’s kind gesture.
The Hendrix family heard a knock on the door, but they never could have guessed who they would find behind it.
The grateful mom wrote in her post:
“Then tonight a senior from his school showed up at our door. After hearing what happened he wanted to buy Tanner new shoes. This act of kindness has me in complete awe.”
https://www.facebook.com/meghanchendrix/videos/10223701808236942/
Tanner’s parents asked Skyler if he was sure he wanted to replace the shoes. He was more than willing.
Tanner thanked his friend, who replied “You’re welcome, man.”
“Yeah I heard about that and I was just like oh my gosh,” Skyler can be heard saying.
“Well that is amazing dude. Thank you so much, Skyler” Tanner’s dad replied.
The family was in disbelief at the gesture.
It must have been a huge relief to know that fellow students still had her son’s back. And when Meghan Hendrix heard about the interaction at the door, she went and pulled the Nest video camera footage to see if it caught the moment.
“I mean, to Skylar, he was replacing Tanner’s shoes. To us as parents, it shows that he does have people looking out for him,” the relieved mom told Humankind.
Tanner’s parents felt that sharing the story was important because it showed that kindness is (and should be) the default for most people, not the exception.
Her story drew many supportive comments and quite a few people wanted to make sure the bully had been dealt with. Tanner’s mom replied:
“Yes we did report it and the school handled it very well. In the end it was a very positive outcome for all sides. 😊 The school was able to find out who did it and after talking to Tanner, the kid that did it gets picked on and teased quite a bit at school. Tanner said he’s just going to be sure to be extra nice to him because he needs friends! 💗💗”
It didn’t need to happen in the first place, but it sounds like quite a few people got what they needed in the end.
While this never should have occurred to begin with, it’s beautiful to know that an act of kindness was able to change the course of things.
Learn more about this heartwarming story in the video below!
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