We have three boys under 10 – we let them drive our car & smack bullies in the face, we’re judged but they must be tough
A COUPLE admit they teach their kids to punch others in the face to stop them from being picked on by bullies at school.
Tency and David, who live in outback Australia, say they’re raising their boys to be tough and have respect, which means showing them “some tough love”.
The couple are parents to three boys – Vance, 10, Wyatt, 9, and Clancy, 7 – and appear on the Australian TV show Parental Guidance, which compares 12 sets of parenting styles.
“Raising kids on the farm is the best way to grow up. They become independent,” said Tency.
“Obviously every parent needs to keep their kids safe as possible but they do need to explore as well”.
To help with this, the parents allow their 10-year-old to drive their car to allow for “independence and exploring”. Vance has been driving his younger brothers through the property for the past year and a half.
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Other parents on the show admitted feeling uncomfortable knowing the kids were faced with such “dangerous” situations.
“We wouldn’t teach our kids to drive around our property at that age,” said one couple – and others agreed.
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But what shocked them most was hearing the parents’ thoughts on bullying.
” We’ve always told them, if it comes to it and they’re putting their hands on you, and the teachers aren’t doing anything, then you’re allowed to retaliate,” Tency said during an interview for the show.
“If they’re attacking you and you can’t get away and it keeps happening, punch them in the face,” she added in defence.
David then chimed in and agreed with his wife.
“School kids don’t just sit there and verbally abuse each other,” he said. ” Once someone picks a target at school, bullying goes very quickly from verbal to physical, and once that happens, your child is now in the firing line of being hurt “.
He argued that “punching them back in the face while you’re getting hit” is the only way to stay safe, and encourages his sons to do just that.
“You’ve got a lot less chance of being hurt than what you do sitting there getting kicked in the ribs and stomped on on the ground. If they’re getting smacked in the face, smack them back,” he explained.
The admission shocked other parents who sat facing Tency and David in the studio.
” We teach our kids that violence is never on the table. It’s black and white in our opinion,” one mum said.
“There’s also a lot of young boys that die from being kid hit in the face,” said another.
Dr Justin Coulson, a parenting expert on the show, also chimed in with his thoughts.
“When bullying becomes physical things can start to get really scary,” he said.
“But rather than telling them to hit back, we can tell them to do only what they need to do to block the attack and run”.