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Mom and grandma accused of assaulting daughter's bullies

by Shayne Rodriguez Thompson October 22, 2012 at 12:50 PM

A New Jersey mom is being accused of assaulting two young boys who allegedly bullied her daughter. Rebecca Sardoni and her mother, Stephanie Sardoni, boarded the fourth grader's school bus and confronted two of the four students she knew to have been harassing her little girl. Other students on the bus at the time of the incident have reported that Sardoni cursed at one of the boys and slapped the other. Sardoni maintains that she did not got physical with either of them.

"I was upset. I wasn't crazy woman upset," the younger Sardoni told The Associated Press. "I don't put my hands on my own kids. I would have never put my hands on anyone's kid."

Read more ¿Qué más? Mom who beat up son's bully is not completely wrong (VIDEO)

Rebecca's actions came after complaints to school officials went ignored. She is being charged with simple assault, criminal trespass, and making terroristic threats, and her mother is being charged with criminal trespass.

Admittedly, if I were in this woman's position, I would likely be equally as angry and frustrated. Though I can't foresee myself ever resorting to violence, it is our job as parents to protect our children and when the time comes, we have no choice but to entrust that responsibility to school officials. So when that system fails, which it seems to do quite often, what else is a parent supposed to do aside from taking the problem into his or her own hands? It certainly wouldn't be okay to continue to let your child be harassed without taking any action. That in and of itself would be bordering on neglectful.

Sardoni could have tracked down the other parents--and in an ideal world that's what I would have done--but, she was upset, her daughter was upset, and she saw an opportunity to address the issue, an opportunity she thought could solve the problem quickly. And she is cetainly not the first parent to end up in this predicament, just last month we reported a story about a Florida mom who was arrested for beating up her teen son's harasser.

It's unfortunate that however it may have happened, the boys involved ended up with minor injuries, but had their parents done a better job of teaching them respect and human decency, this situation could have been avoided altogether. As for the Sardonis, I hope the evidence comes out in their favor, and that they find a way to help their little girl through this bullying ordeal.

Image via Thinkstock

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About the author

Shayne Rodriguez Thompson is a full-time wife, full-time mom, and freelance journalist trying to balance it all and looking forward to exploring the world with her son and husband. In her rare spare moments, she's a pop culture junkie and kitchen devotee who makes a mean cupcake!