World heaps praise on dad

How The QT first reported the bullying story.

Poll

Should more parents take this type of action?

This poll ended on 22 April 2011.

Absolutely!

69%

Yes, in the right circumstances

28%

Not sure

0%

No, it could affect their kids' future

1%

This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.

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• Dad turns in own kids for bullying

A STORY about an Ipswich father who claimed he was so irate when he discovered his two kids were bullies that he marched them into a police station has been a huge online hit.

The story on The Queensland Times website had been seen by more than 87,500 people as of yesterday with more than 6000 sharing the link on Facebook.

It also attracted a large number of comments, with the vast majority overwhelmingly backing the dad for the action he took.

Readers from all around the world, including the United States and the United Arab Emirates, had their say on the issue.

The man, who only wanted to be identified as Matt, told radio station 97.3FM the incident started last week when he came home from work early.

“I came around the corner three streets from home. There’s my 17-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter and they’re fair beating the living crap out of this kid.”

He said he damaged his car as he pulled up on the gutter, dragged his kids into the back of the car and took the 13-year-old victim back to his home before doling out the punishment.

“I marched both my kids into the local police station. They’ve both now been charged with assault,” he said.

The dad said he sold his 17-year-old son’s recently purchased car and 15-year-old daughter’s horse as further punishment.

He said the bullying victim had suffered a broken jaw in the attack from his kids.

The man said his daughter confessed to bullying the victim because he wore glasses, prompting the dad to pull out photos of him as a child with glasses.

Ipswich Police Station Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Laurie Shevlin said he could not confirm the father’s story.

The dad’s claims also coincided with another story of bullying in Australia that became a “viral” internet hit – that of 15-year-old Sydney schoolboy Casey Heynes.

In video posted on the internet, Casey was seen to take a number of punches from a bully before finally snapping and slamming his aggressor to the ground.

Casey, who was taunted because of his weight, said he was an easy target because he had not in the past retaliated.

He said he had been tormented by bullies since he was in second grade and despite making friends early in high school, they had abandoned him and he was picked on nearly every day.

The bully sustained a grazed knee in the altercation.