Coco Austin Reveals How She Helped Her and Ice-T's Daughter Chanel Deal With a School Bully
Coco Austin's lesson on the haters deserves an A+.
The model has dealt with her own fair share of online critics over the years, but when she found out her 8-year-old daughter Chanel was being bullied at school, she took matters into her own hands.
"We had one bully conversation and it was actually in kindergarten," Coco—who shares Chanel with husband Ice-T—told E! News' Francesca Amiker in an exclusive interview. "This little girl was bullying her, and she used to come home and say, 'Mommy, I don't like this girl. She's mean to me.'"
At first, Coco admitted she didn't think too hard about it, assuming it was 5-year-olds being 5-year-olds. But when she met Chanel's classmate and mom at a school function, she noticed their demeanor had changed.
That's when Coco decided to use the opportunity to take the high road.
"When I saw this parent," the 44-year-old continued, "I killed her with kindness. And her whole opinion changed of me, and she probably had a conversation with her daughter [because] Chanel didn't have a problem the rest of the year."
In fact, the two girls became close throughout the school year.
"As a matter of fact, she was asking Chanel, 'Can I come to your parties? Can I come to your house?'" Coco revealed. "And that's all it takes: You just have to kill them with kindness."
And although Coco aced her lesson on bullies, she's navigating a completely new territory with her daughter: The internet.
"She just said this week, 'I Google you guys,'" Coco said. "She's like, 'I Google myself, too.'"
While the mom hoped to have this conversation when Chanel was older, she noted it's important to be honest about the content she could come across.
"You have to have that moment of not everything is the truth on the internet," Coco explained, "and that talk has to come now because she'll read something on the internet, really believe it and get her feelings hurt."
At the end of the day, Coco is a mama bear who wants to keep her little cub happy.
That's why she and Ice-T celebrated Chanel's latest milestone of turning 8 with a Hello kitty-themed party. "She's like, 'I just feel like I need a party,'" Coco recalled Chanel telling her. "'Everybody else in my class has had a birthday party.'"
Keep reading to see how the family went all out for their little one.
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