What would you do to make your daughter happy again? This is the story of Tomas Valero, a father who was worried about his daughter and decided to do something about it. Tomas' little girl had always been a happy, positive child, but it all changed when she started attending a new school.

Tomas wanted to get to the bottom of it, and he wasn't afraid to go into desperate measures to do so. There are many parenting styles out there, but one thing's for sure: loving parents such as Tomas will do whatever it takes to put a smile back on their child's face!

A Change in Behavior

When Tomas saw his daughter crying every day after school, he knew something was very wrong. He finally figured out what was going on, and what he discovered shocked him. Tomas realized that the truth had to be revealed in some way, but also knew that he had to be sneaky.

No parent would simply stand by and watch his child suffer; Tomas was no different. While you may or may not agree with what he did next, the fact is that he decided to put his daughter's happiness first. Think about it: wouldn't any other father have done the same?

School Starts

Any child who begins school has a hard time adjusting to the new environment. To help their children cope, parents need to provide as much support as they can. No matter how good a teacher is, it's always a scary time for a child. School professionals are too busy to pay attention to all the children under their watch.

Sadly, this means that some children are left behind. That's why it's so important for parents to monitor their kids. All kinds of bad things can happen at school, but parents are often the only people who can notice a negative change in their children.

It Was a Tough Adjustment

A child's experience is made worse if their teacher is very strict or mean. As soon as Tomas realized his daughter was having trouble at her school, he knew he had to find out why. Many things can go wrong at school, and little children don't always have the maturity they need to deal with their issues.

While grown-ups tend to assume when something's wrong and try to do something about it, children often keep their problems to themselves, hiding them away even from the ones they trust the most. It was a tough adjustment for Tomas' daughter at her new school...

She Was terrified

When your children are in pain, it's normal for you to be concerned about them. That's what being a parent is all about. Thomas felt the same way, becoming increasingly concerned with the way his daughter struggled. It looked as though she was terrified and had lost the will to go to school. More than that, she didn't want to leave the house in the morning!

Tomas knew he couldn't stand by while his once-happy daughter was going through something negative. When a child suffers, their parents suffer too; Tomas felt the pain of his daughter as his own.

Emotions Became More Intense for Her

As her schooling progressed, Tomas' daughter became more and more emotional. Tomas initially thought it was just nerves related to school, but as time went by, he realized it was more than that. It's natural to feel nervous for a while after starting a new chapter in life, but his daughter wasn't just nervous; she seemed unhappy!

Emotions became more intense for Tomas' daughter, and Tomas started to worry more and more. To make matters worse, this wasn't a one-time thing; instead, it was turning into a part of the day-to-day of the household, which was not a very good sign...

It Was Always The Same

The more she cried and asked to stay home from school, the more it became a part of her daily routine. This worried Tomas. All children are somewhat emotional, and they do tend to cry for unimportant reasons. But when a child cries every day, that's a whole other story.

Things continued to deteriorate until Tomas couldn't cope. It was always the same, every single day: his daughter seemed to be unhappy, appeared to be sadder than ever, and showed little to no disposition for attending school. Tomas was tormented, as any parent would. But was there anything he could do?

Things Got Worse

The days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Tomas' daughter seemed to have lost all excitement and joy and became increasingly fearful of school. The situation soon became so bad that she didn't want to go to school at all. This is not normal: while kids sometimes don't feel like going to school, they do tend to embrace it after a while.

Not Tomas' daughter, though. It wasn't just the nerves of attending a new school and meeting new friends. Something was rotten in Tomas' daughter's day-to-day life, and it was not something that would simply go away.

Apprehensive

Tomas, being a concerned parent, wanted to know what was wrong. When he spoke to his daughter, she refused to say anything. This was not acceptable. This was not the way he wanted to see his daughter. She used to be such a bright and communicative child! It wasn't typical of her to hide her feelings away.

At this point, Tomas was understandably apprehensive. More than that, he was struggling to deal with his daughter's pain, which was turning into a pain of his own. He didn't know exactly why his daughter was unhappy, but it wasn't that hard to know what caused it...

It Was The New School

Tomas' daughter attended Pine Grove Elementary School. He never noticed any problems with her. A friendly, happy, and healthy girl, she was creative and easily made friends. She was just like any other kid and she loved to go to school and spend time with her friends.

At Pine Grove Elementary School, Tomas' daughter seemed to be living a happy, normal life. This meant that being unhappy and unwilling to attend school wasn't part of her personality. It was something that was caused by environmental reasons, by an external factor that Tomas couldn't single out no matter how hard he tried to.

But Then, She Changed...

Tomas noticed that his daughter's character changed as soon as she started attending the new school. He noticed that she became emotional, unpredictable, sad, and upset. Tomas wondered why this happened. Maybe it's the school, the other children, or perhaps a teacher?

Again, Tomas wasn't certain of what it was exactly. And sadly, his daughter seemed unwilling to open up with him. But one thing was for sure: whatever was making his little girl unhappy, was related to her experience at the new school. That's when her behavior started to change, and that's when it all started to go awry.

Good Grades

His daughter was doing well in school before this all happened. In addition to getting good grades, the reports about her were generally positive. Then, a few months after she began attending this school, her grades began to slip. This was the confirmation Tomas needed to know that something was very wrong.

What can turn a bright, smart, and happy kid into a shallow version of herself? While Tomas' daughter was just a child, it wasn't acceptable that she was getting bad grades because of something that was affecting her. At this point, Tomas felt like he couldn't take it anymore.

Helpless

Additionally, Tomas' daughter would get emotional before and after school. What was going on? Tomas found it unbearable to see his daughter act in this manner. He felt helpless. However, he knew that he had to dig deeper into the matter. But how can a father help his daughter if she doesn't seem like she wants to be helped?

Unlike grown-ups, kids don't recognize that they need help to fix their problems. Tomas' daughter wasn't going to let her father know what was wrong, so it was up to Tomas and Tomas alone to find out. One thing's for sure: he was determined to do so!

He Was Concerned

Naturally, any parent would feel concerned for their child's welfare. It was difficult to see how sad his daughter was all the time. Tomas was becoming increasingly worried about his daughter. It took him a while to understand what was wrong, but the more he tried, the more the little girl retreated. That was when he realized what could be wrong.

Parents are the main ones responsible for the happiness of their children. This fact had caused Tomas to doubt himself. However, he reflected deeply on it and realized that whatever was making his daughter sad had to be related to her school.

Happy Family Life

This concerned him a great deal. As a result, he concluded that one of her classmates or even one of her teachers was bullying her. Since they were a happy and stable family at home, he knew this couldn't be the problem. Some parents are blindsided when it comes to the happiness of their children; not Tomas, though.

Back home, Tomas' daughter was acting differently, but it wasn't like she wanted to leave the house. If the problem that was stressing her was home-related, she'd want to go to school! Instead, she seemed to be fearful of the opposite and wanted to stay home for as long as possible.

It Pays to Have Patience

Having patience is crucial. Even if it's hard to practice, it's one of the most important virtues we can all learn. This is especially true when trying to teach young children. Patience is a virtue all educators should have. Tomas knew it was hard, yes. But if he wasn't patient, he could end up making a crucial mistake.

He considered his options calmly, weighed the pros and cons, and measured the possible consequences of his actions. It pays to have patience and wait for the right time to do something. But one thing's to wait, and another is to simply do nothing...

Growing Up

Tomas' daughter was still very young. She was in her formative years, which meant that she was going through a crucial time in her life. Her experiences during this period will shape her into the adult she will be in the future. That's one of the main reasons why Tomas thought that, while patience was very important, time was also of the essence.

This is one of the turning points in Tomas's story, the moment he finally decided it was time to do something. His daughter's pain was becoming unbearable, and no father wants to see his little girl struggle.

It's Time to Listen Up!

To get to the bottom of the situation, Tomas decided to install a listening device on his daughter's hair before taking her to school. This way, he could listen exactly to what was going on. And while this may sound like a desperate idea, the fact is that it worked: soon enough, Tomas understood why his daughter was feeling so emotionally unstable.

The problem had a nome too: Mrs. Duncan. It turned out one of the teachers of Tomas' daughter was particularly mean to the students, yelling at them constantly and using aggressive words such as "zip it!" and "are you deaf?"

The Other Parents Were Mad Too

After finding out the truth about Mrs. Duncan, Tomas decided to show his recordings to the other parents, who were as mad as him! Soon enough, a petition to get Mrs. Duncan removed collected over two thousand signatures. As for the school board, they sadly insisted that Mrs. Duncan did nothing wrong.

The mean teacher even used being from New York as an excuse for her behavior. This, of course, was not taken well by Tomas and the other parents. And while nothing too serious happened to her, the fact is that Tomas' daughter was changed to a different classroom.

Immediate Change

When Tomas' daughter was taken out of Mrs. Duncan's class, the change in her behavior was instant. Tomas rejoiced as his daughter went back to being her former self: a happy, emotionally-stable, normal kid who wasn't afraid to go to school. While Tomas suspected his daughter was being bullied by other students, he was shocked to find out it was all caused by a teacher!

Being a teacher is a very hard job, but that's no excuse to neglect your responsibilities and, even worse, harm your students. While Mrs. Duncan got away with a reprimand from the board, she deserved to endure more serious consequences.

A Happy Family Once Again

Following Tomas' brave decision to install a listening device on his daughter's hair, the Valero household went back to normal. Tomas proved that a parent doesn't have to sit around and wait for things to get better: when it comes to one's children, it's always best to take action, even if you have to wait for the right moment.

In the end, the whole Mrs. Duncan conundrum ended up making the Valero family stronger. As for Tomas and his daughter, they learned a valuable lesson: every difficulty can be overcome if you have someone who loves you to rely on!