Mom Emails School About Daughter’s Bully—Then Realizes Who’s Cc’d In

A Texas mom has shared how she still thinks about an embarrassing email mishap even years later.

Jennifer Mullen, from Dallas, Texas, shared how she originally intended to send an email to her daughter’s teacher regarding a classmate who had been bullying and hitting her six-year-old. But when she pressed send, she realized the mistake—the email had been sent to the parents of the whole class, including the bully’s.

In a video on TikTok that has been viewed over 550,000 times, Mullen explained that the teacher had CC’d the group email instead of using BCC, making it accessible to her. When she pressed send on the email, she accidentally hit “reply all.”

“The worst part was they were so nice and apologetic about it,” Mullen wrote in the video caption, adding that she will “never forget the feeling of embarrassment” upon realizing her mistake.

Mullen’s daughter had been dealing with bullying for weeks, and when a seating change placed the bully right next to her, the situation escalated. “The bullying became constant to where I’d pick my daughter up every day in tears, and I had just had enough,” Mullen told Newsweek.

Her email to the teacher was firm, but respectful. “I think I said something to the effect of, ‘My daughter has been telling us for weeks that a certain student has been bullying her. We’ve tried coaching her on how to handle the situation and what to say, but since the students were moved, the bullying has gotten significantly worse. Could you please move my daughter to a different spot, and we need to work together on a solution to end the bullying?'” she recalled.

It wasn’t until the teacher responded that Mullen realized her mistake. But she was even more pleased with what happened next—the bully’s mother soon reached out directly, apologizing and assuring her that such behavior was not tolerated at home and that it would not happen again.

Unfortunately the bullying did not end there, and the parents ended up moving their daughter to a new school.

TikTok Reacts

Mullen, who embraces a humorous approach to parenting on social media, said that she shared the story as a way to “take the lemons in life and turn them into laugh-out-loud moments.”

The video has gained lots of attention online, with many parents praising the mom for bringing attention to the issue of bullying. Others told her she had done nothing wrong in accidentally sending the email.

Viewer @evroth07, wrote: “I am noting this tactic. Public shaming works wonders.” Another, @MadisonJohnson, added: “Okay, but I’d want to know if my kid was being a bully!!!” Others reassured Mullen that the mix-up may have been a blessing in disguise. @Christine commented: “10/10 no notes. Probably worked out better that way!”

Despite the initial embarrassment, Mullen found comfort in the support of other parents. “It was such a relief and so reassuring to know that the majority of parents are on the same page when it comes to bullying,” she said.