Charlotte Foster
Family & Pets

"What do you say?" TV host's heartbreaking parenting plea

An Aussie TV host has shared a heartfelt plea for advice after revealing that his 12-year-old daughter has been bullied at school.

Barry Du Bois, co-host of The Living Room, shared an emotional post on Instagram admitting he is struggling to help Arabella with the bullying issue, and asked other parents for advice. 

“I just watched my little girl walk out the gate of our home, a place where I know she is safe and feels a sense of security and belonging,” Barry said.

“She is heading to a place that doesn’t offer that same security, her school. As a parent, I’m supposed to protect and guide her through difficult times, but this morning, I am lost.”

“Yesterday, Arabella came home from school claiming she was sick,” he continued. "This isn’t the first time it has happened. She wasn’t actually sick but is instead being bullied again.”

Barry then asked for help from his followers on how to help his daughter, asking, “What do you say to a child when you’ve already said, ‘Don’t let them upset you. Just keep being kind. You are not the horrible things they say’.”

“She said, ‘I don’t want to be special; I just want to be liked’,” the TV star added before revealing he felt “weak, angry, confused and a little fearful”.

The touching post encouraged some of his famous friends to share their own stories of helping their kids deal with bullying. 

“My mate sent his daughter to Jiu Jitsu after being bullied. She fell in love with it and gained another level of confidence,” wrote The Bachelor Australia star Tim Robards. 

“Sometimes you’ve just got to go up to the parents and say, ‘your kid bullies mine’,” added Married At First Sight’s Ryan Gallagher.

Image credits: Instagram 

Tags:
family & pets, Barry Du Bois, daughter, bullying