As a parent, I tend to look at my children as needing my protection. This is a normal response by parents, after all. Our job is to nurture them and provide for them until they’re old enough to take care of themselves. It’s our job to make it so they can grow into functioning adults.

The last thing any of us think about is our kids protecting us.

That’s especially true if your child is kindergarten aged, yet that’s precisely what happened during an Indiana home invasion.

A five-year-old boy tackled an armed gunman after a group of men forced their way into his Indiana home.

South Bend police released footage of the home invasion, which happened around 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 30.

Four men, at least three of whom were armed with handguns, barged into the house after another child answered the door, police said.

The video shows the men pointing their guns at an adult woman in the home before the 5-year-old boy jumped into action hitting one of the armed suspects.

Police say that shots were fired, but everyone in the home was unharmed.

The suspects are still at large.

We tend to spend a lot of time talking about the need for firearms, and they’re certainly important. This situation could have gone very differently because the residents didn’t seem to have the tools to fight back most effectively.

However, there’s another tool we need to talk about, one this kid has in spaces, and that’s the will to fight back.

Time and time again, I see potential victims fight back and thwart their attackers and come out on the other side unharmed. That actually makes sense, too.

See, criminals don’t like to work. That’s generally why they become criminals, after all. They see a way to make an easy score and jump on it.

Yet when their victims fight back, it means the bad guys suddenly have to put forward some effort. What else do you call dealing with a rampaging five-year-old who just tackled one of your crew?

Honestly, I want these guys caught, and not just because they’re scumbags who try to pray on innocent, hard-working folks. I want them caught and sent to prison just so I can see how much crap they get for being stopped by a five-year-old kid. You know they’re going to catch crap for that, which might be the best deterrent out there.

Or not.

Regardless, this little hero deserves all the credit he can get. Enroll the kid into some martial arts, start teaching him how to use firearms as soon as he’s old enough, and harness that fighting spirit so that he can direct it for good. Do not be surprised if this little man ends up doing something amazing with his life. A spirit like that isn’t likely to settle for being mediocre.

And you should learn from his example. It’s often better to fight than be a docile victim. If a five-year-old can do it, then so can you.