When His Son Was Bullied for Wearing Nail Polish, This Dad Stepped Up in an Inspiring Way

When one kindergartener was bullied for wearing nail polish, his dad clapped back in a serious—and seriously inspiring—way. Aaron Gouveia, the blogger behind The Daddy Files, wasn’t exactly thrilled when the other kids in his son Sam’s class ridiculed the little boy’s polish preference. And here’s what he did about it.

Hey, if a kid wants to paint their nails…well that’s okay. At least it should be. And that goes for both girls and boys. Heck, plenty of us have some pretty fond memories of painting our nails in our earlier years.

https://twitter.com/DaddyFiles/status/1054527579204530176

According to Gouveia’s tweet about his son’t experience at school, “This is my son. Sam. he’s 5. And today he learned how sh**ty and harmful #ToxicMasculinity is.” But that wasn’t all. The dad went on to add, “My rage meter is spiking right now so excuse me if this is a little raw but there are some things I want to say about BS gender norms.”

Gouevia also noted that Sam loves to paint his nails because they “look beautiful.” Um, yeah. Of course they do! But when Sam wore his beautifully painted nails to school, his classmates taunted him, calling him names. When the kindergartener asked the other kids to stop, things got worse.

That moved me to paint MY nails. Sam picked out this color called “Main Squeeze” & I think it’s understated but lovely. Sam is sticking with red because “it’s pretty and good luck for the @patriots.” #ItsOnlyWeirdIfItDoesntWork pic.twitter.com/KtuwldiEJw

— Get the shot. Wear the mask. (@DaddyFiles) October 23, 2018

In his Twitter thread, Gouveia noted that even though the bullies are only in kindergarten, their actions were still toxic. Beyond that, he also brought up the idea of learned behavior, writing, “So parents, I hope you’re proud. I hope this is what you wanted. I hope you’re satisfied.”

So how does this story end? Well, it wasn’t with Sam caving to the bullies. His older brother decided to paint his nails in support. When dad saw the sweet gesture he joined in, too—and painted his nails a plush pastel lilac hue!

Whether your child is the victim of a bully or you witness bullying at the park, playground, schoolyard or anywhere else, it’s more than okay to step in and stop it. October is National Bullying Prevention Month. If you need help knowing what to do if your child is bullied, how to talk to your child about bullying or how to prevent it, visit the StopBullying.gov website.

—Erica Loop

Featured Photo: Suzy Hazelwood via Pexels

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