Once this Father found out that his young son was being bullied at school, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He met with his son's bully face to face and sat the boy down. The father told him “We need to settle this stuff like men,”. And he did something most wouldn't. 

Aubrey Fontenot realized that his young son Jordan was dealing with some issues at school when the 8-year-old boy’s daily school progress revealed a serious decline. The Houston father wanted to figure out exactly what was going on and he discovered that his son was having a problem with one kid in particular — 11-year-old Tamarion, as reported by Inside Edition.

Having been bullied himself, Aubrey knew all too well what Jordan was going through, and like any caring parent, he wanted to help his boy. He met with school officials several times, but nothing got accomplished. Then, he hit the breaking point when Jordan’s phone went missing. That’s when he decided to take matters into his own hands, blazing a new trail as he chose to deal with his son’s bully in a completely different way.

Aubrey Fontenot (Photo Credit: Twitter)

After bumping into Tamarion’s mom at school, Aubrey decided to ask if he could reach out to her son. To his surprise, she agreed to allow the fed-up dad to address her boy directly about the bullying he had been doing to a much younger Jordan. So, in order to break the ice, Aubrey took Tamarion on a ride to ask what was going on. He wasn’t expecting the answer he received.

“So I talked to him and I got a good feel of the pain he’d been going through. You could tell it wasn’t an abuse thing or anything like that. He was just embarrassed. He was hurt. And I could tell it was becoming a bit much for him,” Aubrey recalled. Indeed, Tamarion was experiencing some troubles of his own after his family had fallen on hard times, leaving him homeless. And, he was being bullied too.

Tamarion and Jordan (Photo Credit: GoFundMe)

“He was like, ‘I don’t have clean clothes. Or my shoes. They make fun of my shoes a lot,'” Aubrey recalled. “I just said, ‘I’m sorry that you had to go through that. I’m sorry my son has to go through this too. How about the day that you’re suspended, why don’t you come spend time with me? We’re gonna talk, we’re gonna have a conversation. You’ll talk to my son.'” That’s just what the dad did — and so much more.

Aubry took Tamarion shopping for new clothes and shoes, then he sat the boys down to hash out their issues. In a video of the shopping spree, a reserved smile initially creeps across Tamarion’s face. Before long, the two are laughing, smiling, and even singing their way through the trip. Although the boys didn’t seem to have much to say when they were awkwardly made sit at a table together, that all changed when the cameras were turned off.

Tamarion and Jordan (Photo Credit: GoFundMe)

“One kid said one thing, another kid said something. I said, ‘We need to settle this stuff like men,'” Aubrey said, according to KVUE. And, they did. From there, a new friendship began, and you’ll now find two boys playing video games and sharing a controller at Aubrey’s place.

In fact, Aubrey says he now looks at Tamarion as if the boy is his own child. “He’s definitely in the family. I was just brushing his hair and I was just looking at him like, ‘I’m proud of you,'” Aubrey said, speaking about the bully turned buddy. As for Jordan, he says Tamarion is more than a friend, they’re homies.

When asked what made him show such kindness, Aubrey explained that he’s been through some of the same things. “When I was young, kids used to make fun of my clothes because I like different stuff and you know, kids can be mean,” he explained. “They’re ruthless sometimes. And they don’t know how far they’re taking it sometimes,” he continued. “It taught me something. I was angry at first,” he admitted. “Then, I said let me try something different,” he added.

“I know how far a little bit of help can go,” Aubrey said. Proving his sentiments to be absolutely true, a clip he posted to social media sharing Tamarion’s story and how he handled the bully went viral, leading to a snowball affect no one saw coming. As the boy’s story gained traction, a GoFundMe page emerged, raising more than $32,000 for Tamarion and his family. Aubrey, Jordan, and Tamarion were also given the VIP treatment when the trio went to a game, courtesy of the Houston Texans.

Aubrey Fontenot with Jordan and Tamarion at the game (Photo Credit: GoFundMe)

But, perhaps best of all, the incident has inspired Aubrey Fontenot to start a nonprofit that focuses on the bullies and the bullied. The dad also hopes to write a children’s book to help other parents and kids cope with similar situations, and he’s actually thankful Jordan was the child who was bullied. He said, “I couldn’t be more grateful that God allowed this to play out how it did.”

Indeed, it seems God put the right person in Tamarion’s path. How many people would honestly choose kindness instead of anger when confronting their child’s bully? If we’re honest with ourselves, that would definitely be a hard choice to make. But, thankfully, Aubrey Fontenot decided to hear this young man out rather than lash out. He decided to simply ask “why” and listen. What a difference that choice made in so many lives.