The internet is a great place to find parenting hacks. For every challenge you face on the parenting frontlines, there’s someone who has been there before you and figured out a way to navigate it successfully.
The internet is also a place where people do some pretty weird stuff. Combine the two and you can find some heinously shocking content.
Recently we saw parents throwing slices of cheese at their baby’s faces, and this week the winner of the ‘nobody should be doing that’ award goes to the shocking viral trend that is seeing parents beating up their children’s beloved stuffed toys in front of them in order to convince fussy eaters to try their dinner.
Nope. It’s not a joke.
“When kids don’t wanna eat… this is what you gotta do,” wrote Twitter user @rudyhernandez_ alongside a video (above) which showed him pummelling into his nephew’s stuffed Mickey Mouse toy.
Twitter user @rudyhernandez_ pounds Mickey Mouse in front of his devastated nephew.
(Image: Twitter @rudyhernandez_)After first offering the infant some food which was refused, the video shows @rudyhernandez_ then offering the same food to Mickey Mouse. He then motions that Mickey Mouse is also refusing the food before putting down the spoon and absolutely ripping into the stuffed toy with a series of closed fist, violent punches to the face and body.
After placing Mickey back down on the table he then offers the shocked little boy the spoon again, and with a look of complete fear and trepidation the infant accepts.
The laughter emojis used in his caption indicate that this ‘clever’ uncle finds himself hilarious. And strangely enough so do some others with the content quickly going viral and other’s jumping on board to try the drastic technique themselves.
However not everyone was pleased with what they saw. As more and people began sharing the post and their own videos of the disturbing trend, many parents and social media users were left horrified, deeming it ‘violent’, ‘disgusting’ and ‘traumatic’.
Commenters are shocked at the threat of violence.
(Image: Twitter @KiingPacino)“What this man is doing to this child is mental torture. Maybe he should try, idk, parenting? Talking to the kid? Helping him understand why he needs food? Just a thought,” suggested one shocked commenter.
Another added: “This exact behavior has been proven scientifically to increase aggression in young people. We talk all the time about perpetuating a culture of violence with young people landing in jail. This is where it starts.”
“This is horrible” came the stunned reply of another commenter. “Threat of violence and children’s trauma is a real thing.”
Despite the protests, more and more parents tried the technique themselves.
Perhaps most confronting of the follow-up videos is the mother, Facebook user Vet Fikes who employs the same tactic before bursting into hysterical laughter at the traumatised look on her child’s face.
WATCH: Vet Fikes uses the bizarre treat of violence at dinner time. Story continues after video …
In a video shared to Facebook on Tuesday, 35-year-old mother Yvette Fikes site her fussy eater son, Tyree ‘TJ’ Lewis Jr. at the kitchen bench and offers him food, which he declines.
Using the idea inspired by @rudyhernandez_, she then pretends to try to feed one of her son’s stuffed toys. Similarly the toy is subjected to hitting, shaking and being slammed on the counter top before TJ is once again offered the food.
With look of complete fear, the shocked child this time accepts the food. A male voice in the background declares that “it worked”, which leaves Fikes in hysterics.
However, parents against the technique are fighting back. In a determined effort at disrupting the shocking trend, Twitter user Christopher Duett shared his own video on Sunday.
WATCH: Dad demonstrates a calm, positive approach to getting a toddler to eat. Story continues after video …
In the video, which Duett captioned “Hey dumb f***ers using stuffed animals to exhibit negative reinforcement to get your kids to do something, watch this…” the thoughtful father uses a stuffed toy to convince his son to eat some food … without the violence.
Like in the other videos, Duett offers his son some food which is refused.
Next, Duett is seen pretending to offer his son’s stuffed penguin toy some food, while saying: “Penguin wants some.”
“Oh, that’s yummy,” he says, pretending to be the voice of the stuffed animal.
Surprise, surprise … the positive reinforcement encourages his son to try a bite of the food that is being offered.
Determined to disrupt the trend, dad Christopher Duett uses a stuffed toy in a positive way and gets the same results.
(Image: Twitter @BethuneTheory)gaining viral attention, Duett’s technique soon acquired it’s own legion of fans.
“Wow it’s amazing what an extra 5 minutes of clam, patient, positive reinforcement can do!” wrote one commenter. “And look, your kid isn’t terrified and he doesn’t hate you!”
Another added: “Now this is parenting I can get behind. I was big mad when I saw the dude getting his child to eat out of fear of being hurt like his stuffed animal. THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT!”
“My mom used to do this to me, and my dad would use punishment to enforce it an the outcomes with my relationships with them are completely different.” said another. “This is awesome!! It’s the right way!”
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