Want to feel something?

[kenny]

Watch this video.

Some reactions show trauma, anger, love, outrage, forgiveness, cuteness, hostility.
But you can't watch this without feeling some pretty strong emotions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NDkVx9AzSY

Is this harmful to kids?

 

[luv2sparkle]

On the one hand, I think it is kind of mean, but it is also a bit of a reality check on your parenting I think. Since I am at the tail end of the parenting job, knowing what I know now, I would have liked to have tried that and witnessed my kids reactions. A great deal of the reaction depends on the temperment of the child. It sure highlights selfishness and attitude problems that might not be evident on a daily basis.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

I love this, I look forward to it each year. My DH watched it with me and we both concluded our children would likely have the last reaction, dropping f bombs but not totally freaking out. Some of those kids though, with the throwing, OMG, that sh*t would not fly with me!

 

[kenny]

So a well-raised child would take it well, forgive you and hug you?

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

So a well-raised child would take it well, forgive you and hug you?

Since I'm a teacher I've met many children and their parents, in most cases the kids take after the parents. Nature has its place but nurture goes a very long way. That's why I said my kids will most likely have the cursing reaction, lol.

 

[AGBF]

I would never have done that to my child. I think it's not just mean, it's sadistic. Some people like to see other people suffer. It's a pity when it's parents wanting to see their own children suffer.

My daughter, had I done such a thing, would have been one of the mellow children, however. Not because I was a good parent. Simply because she never liked Hallowe'en candy (or any other candy except for some sour candy that she discovered in middle school) or cake or ice cream. But when we were growing up my brother and I lived for Hallowe'en and Hallowe'en candy! If someone had taken our candy it would have been a tremendous loss to us.

Deb/AGBF

 

[JulieN]

So cute!

 

[Jennifer W]

I worked in child protection services for a while so maybe my perspective is skewed, but I've seen people do far, far worse things to the children in their care and can't get terribly excited about the prank itself one way or the other.

However, I feel like there's more to this than just the prank. It's being published on the internet. It will be there pretty much forever. It feels to me like a breach of trust (including issues of privacy), and suggests a lack of respect for the people on the receiving end.

Whether the reaction is mild or intense, if I truly believed that this was a valid way of testing the outcome of my parenting, then I'd use the result to address any issues, in the most positive and useful ways I could find, to help my child. In private. I wouldn't use it to entertain the general public.

 

[AGBF]

I worked in child protection services for a while so maybe my perspective is skewed, but I've seen people do far, far worse things to the children in their care and can't get terribly excited about the prank itself one way or the other.

With all due respect, my observation about the sadism of the so-called "prank" was not made due to my lack of experience in the field of child protective services. It just happens to be my point of view.

Deb/AGBF

 

[packrat]

Well, put me in the mean ole horrible mom corner b/c I would totally do that to my kids. The candy one AND the crappy Christmas gift one. I ALSO am the mom who hides behind a door to scare her kids. And I make up crazy bug things we're eating when they ask me what's for supper. I never told them about Santa either. And I've told them there's no Christmas this year b/c every day is Christmas, having us as parents. I sometimes think people need to chill out.

 

[Jennifer W]

I worked in child protection services for a while so maybe my perspective is skewed, but I've seen people do far, far worse things to the children in their care and can't get terribly excited about the prank itself one way or the other.

With all due respect, my observation about the sadism of the so-called "prank" was not made due to my lack of experience in the field of child protective services. It just happens to be my point of view.

Deb/AGBF

I wasn't making reference to your comment, I'm sorry if you think I was. I admit, I hadn't read it, I was just responding to Kenny's initial question as to whether this is harmful to kids, with my own point of view.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Well, put me in the mean ole horrible mom corner b/c I would totally do that to my kids. The candy one AND the crappy Christmas gift one. I ALSO am the mom who hides behind a door to scare her kids. And I make up crazy bug things we're eating when they ask me what's for supper. I never told them about Santa either. And I've told them there's no Christmas this year b/c every day is Christmas, having us as parents. I sometimes think people need to chill out.

I'm with you!

 

[luv2sparkle]

I did not mean that how a child reacts says that a parent is doing a good job or not depending on how the child reacts. Just that on a day to day basis we dont always see attitudes in them that we might like to work on. Like forgiveness, and selfishness. Heck, I always need work there.

Out of my five, I probably would have had one who forgave me, one who said they hate me, and at least one who cussed at me. The other two are up for grabs.

We love to scare each other on our family! We are all really good at it. One of by boys is in Japan, teaching english, and he brought his Joker mask with him. On Halloween he made videos of him scaring his students with it, and the ladies in the cafeteria of the university.
Hilarious. Did my heart proud. He is the one who would have forgiven me. A good practical joke is not lost on me.

 

[Jennifer W]

luv2sparkle, I think you're right - so much depends on the child and their sense of humour. I wouldn't have found that funny as a child, at all, I think I would have been quite upset by it. My own child would probably enjoy the joke, she does like a good practical joke, and she is a much sunnier, funnier little person than I ever was at her age.

Like I said, I don't have strong feelings about the thing itself, but I don't like how public it is, and how permanent. Those clips are out there, and won't go away. I can't help imagining a few years down the line, when one of these children is being interviewed for his first job etc that this could come back to haunt them.

Also, you raised five kids, that's awesome (I say this on a day where I am pretty much worn out with one... ).

 

[Karl_K]

I know adults who react worse than some of the kids.
Reminds me of one job we did after hours at a business putting in a server.
We were there until 3:30am after starting at 4pm after a full days work.
One lady had a jar of small candy bars and before she left she said help yourselves to as many as we wanted.
I love snickers bars and there were 3 in there along with 4 or 5 other kinds, I ate the snickers during the night.
The next day she called my boss yelling and swearing that we ate all her snickers bars out of her jar.
She even admitted she told us to help ourselves.
I ended up buying her a big bag of snickers bars and dropping it off at her desk to save my job.

 

[Calliecake]

I know adults who react worse than some of the kids.
Reminds me of one job we did after hours at a business putting in a server.
We were there until 3:30am after starting at 4pm after a full days work.
One lady had a jar of small candy bars and before she left she said help yourselves to as many as we wanted.
I love snickers bars and there were 3 in there along with 4 or 5 other kinds, I ate the snickers during the night.
The next day she called my boss yelling and swearing that we ate all her snickers bars out of her jar.
She even admitted she told us to help ourselves.
I ended up buying her a big bag of snickers bars and dropping it off at her desk to save my job.

Seriously?? People are definately crazy Karl. I'm sure not having those three snicker bars destroyed her day. Sounds like this woman was a piece of work!

 

[zoebartlett]

I was more appalled at some of the kids' reactions than I was with the parents' prank.

 

[AGBF]

I was more appalled at some of the kids' reactions than I was with the parents' prank.

I don't find that at all odd, Zoe. For anyone watching any practical joke. It's always funnier to see the butt of the joke, isn't it, after all? Who laughs at the person who pulls out the chair from under someone as he is about to sit down, after all? That person appears calm, cool, and collected. It is the crying, humiliated, red-faced, sore person sitting on the ground who is just ever so hilarious.

Deb

 

[packrat]

mmmmm I dunno...I think if we can't learn to laugh at ourselves and laugh with others AT ourselves, what fun is that? My mom told me and my brother when we were little she was selling us to the gypsies. And boooy oh boy did I cryyyyyyyyyyyyyy like my world was ending. I seriously thought she didn't love me anymore. I still remember that. Mom remembers it too. But we both remember her laughing while she was trying to console me, b/c she couldn't believe that I would believe such a thing. It hurt then, it's funny now. But I've not killed anyone. I've not gone off the deep end. I don't beat the tar out of my kids b/c of it. I did learn to raise my eyebrow at her and say "ppft call the gypsies then" when I'd get in trouble. These things are embarrassing and yeah they're on the internet for the whole entire universe to see. I don't see where that is going to do irreparable harm to these children's psyche's, or cause them to lose out on a job or lose a friend or..whatever. Like the people wouldn't have voted Obama into office if he'd thrown himself onto the floor and had a hissy fit over some stupid candy joke?

 

[kenny]

I agree it is a mean prank, but then again, isn't part of parenting teaching your kids how to roll with life's punches and develop a thick skin and a sense of humor about many things, including yourself?
I think some overly sensitive adults right here, and there are plenty, could have benefited from more of this toughing up when they were kids.

There's no way a hiring decision would be influenced by a home video recorded of the applicant 20 years ago when she was 4.
Hiring managers couldn't even find such a video since the child's full name is not going to appear in the Youtube video.
The toddler will look unrecognizable decades later so the applicant would still have her privacy no matter how viral the video went.

 

[Circe]

I think some people are practical joke, physical humor types and others ... aren't. I'm not: I'd find it cruel if I was the butt, and I'd hate to watch it as a bystander ... can't even watch the videos. On the other hand, my husband? He'd totally crack up.

INEXPLICABLE. I don't think it's right or wrong. But much as with the whole Ice Bucket Challenge thing, I admit I'm deeply puzzled by the participatory humiliation. Is this the new 15 minutes of fame?

 

[AGBF]

I agree it is a mean prank, but then again, isn't part of parenting teaching your kids how to roll with life's punches and develop a thick skin and a sense of humor about many things, including yourself?

Part of parenting is not necessarily teaching one's kids to develop a thick skin. But, yes, part of parenting is teaching one's kids to roll with life's punches. But one does not have to deliver life's punches to them for sport. Unfortunately life will deliver them enough punches and, if one is an average parent, one will deliver plenty of punches to one's kids through one's errors and through the things one cannot help doing anyway!!! For instance, one may get a divorce or become ill and be hospitalized or inadvertently marry someone who ends up being the wrong person for one's children!

I think some overly sensitive adults right here, and there are plenty, could have benefited from more of this toughing up when they were kids.

That is your opinion and you have a right to it. I think that there are some adults posting here who were probably treated too roughly by their own parents who were not sufficiently empathic to them when they were growing up and are now lacking in empathy to others. I think that they are insufficiently thoughtful about the feelings of children and could benefit from psychotherapy. Furthermore, I think that they would benefit from parenting classes were they ever to become parents.

AGBF

 

[Jennifer W]

I agree it is a mean prank, but then again, isn't part of parenting teaching your kids how to roll with life's punches and develop a thick skin and a sense of humor about many things, including yourself?
I think some overly sensitive adults right here, and there are plenty, could have benefited from more of this toughing up when they were kids.

There's no way a hiring decision would be influenced by a home video recorded of the applicant 20 years ago when she was 4.
Hiring managers couldn't even find such a video since the child's full name is not going to appear in the Youtube video.
The toddler will look unrecognizable decades later so the applicant would still have her privacy no matter how viral the video went.

Some of these children may well be recognisable to or simply remembered by others in a few years, particularly in a small town. Even if that were not the case, there are still, to me, other significant privacy issues.

 

[zoebartlett]

I was more appalled at some of the kids' reactions than I was with the parents' prank.

I don't find that at all odd, Zoe. For anyone watching any practical joke. It's always funnier to see the butt of the joke, isn't it, after all? Who laughs at the person who pulls out the chair from under someone as he is about to sit down, after all? That person appears calm, cool, and collected. It is the crying, humiliated, red-faced, sore person sitting on the ground who is just ever so hilarious.

Deb

I know what you mean. There are worse ways to treat a child though, obviously, and I thought of this as a relatively harmless prank. Some of the kids' reactions made me laugh, but I cringed when I saw how bratty others' were.

If I did this, not saying I would, I wouldn't have put it out there for the whole country to see, mostly because of the kids/Internet's safety issue.

 

[zoebartlett]

I think some people are practical joke, physical humor types and others ... aren't. I'm not: I'd find it cruel if I was the butt, and I'd hate to watch it as a bystander ... can't even watch the videos. On the other hand, my husband? He'd totally crack up.

INEXPLICABLE. I don't think it's right or wrong. But much as with the whole Ice Bucket Challenge thing, I admit I'm deeply puzzled by the participatory humiliation. Is this the new 15 minutes of fame?

Just curious, Circe, why do you think the Ice Bucket Challenge is humiliating? It bugged me and I didn't participate, but I'm not sure I'd categorize it the same way you did.