Woman Calls Out Mom Who Frightened & Humiliated Her Toddler For A Prank — 'Stop Exploiting Your Kids For Likes Online'
When asked what she thought was funny about her child being humiliated and frightened, she replied, 'All of it. All of it was funny.'
Halfpoint / Shutterstock A mom is getting criticized online for something that is all too common nowadays — using her child as a prop on social media. She insists the incident it was just a joke, but her son's response seems to indicate otherwise, and it's left some people disturbed, especially as she continues insisting she did nothing wrong.
The mom was called out for humiliating her child for a prank on social media, then doubling down again and again.
The video that started it all has since been deleted, but TikToker Dara Faye (@notdarafaye) reposted the video with the little boy's face obscured to protect his privacy.
The video shows a self-professed "Jesus follower" and "mama" teaching her toddler son how to crack an egg into a mixing bowl. "I'm going to do this one, and then I'll let you do the next one, okay?" she says.
She then cracks an egg and pretends to hand her son the next one. Instead, she slams it onto his head, hard enough that it actually seems like it could have hurt him.
The child seems to freeze in shock and then says, "Mama!" in disbelief before bursting into tears as egg runs down over his head. Rather than comfort him, the mom roars with laughter as he sobs, "I'm telling daddy!"
Joke or not, such a stunt registers as a betrayal of trust to a child, and therapists say it can have lifelong mental and emotional health consequences.
Perhaps the mom meant no harm, but the science is clear — a stunt like this, and especially the mom's mocking laughter afterward, read as a betrayal to a kid by the one person who is supposed to protect them at all costs.
And intent unfortunately does not erase the well established impact a stunt like this has. Therapists say that damaging the trust between a child and their mother interrupts the developmental process of attachment — impacting our relationships with other people for the rest of our lives.
Not being able to trust that your parent has your best interests in mind and that they will be on your side when you're hurt or frightened can cause a child to develop one of the three unhealthy attachment styles — anxious, avoidant or disorganized.
Disorganized attachment bonds form when a child's caregivers are abusive or inconsistent in the way they treat their children, so their child comes to see them as both a source of comfort and fear — like, say, when your normally loving mother humiliates you on social media and then laughs at your shocked response.
Kids with disorganized attachment bonds are at higher risk of develop mood and personality disorders, and substance abuse issues. And they grow up to simultaneously fear and desperately crave intimacy, leading to relationships that are unstable and chaotic, where they cling one moment and push people away the next. Behavior like this is a key sign of having suffered emotional abuse as a child.
The little boy's mom vigorously defended humiliating her child for a prank, and insisted to those who criticized her that the video is 'funny.'
Despite the outrage the video produced, the child's mom was unfazed by the controversy. She doubled down over and over again when confronted about the video. When asked what exactly she thought about the video was funny, she replied, "All of it. All of it was funny."
Photo: TikTok
She also proudly proclaimed that she spanks her children, which multiple studies have shown has long-lasting psychological effects on children, including creating abusive and antisocial tendencies when the children become adults, and putting them at higher risk of mental health conditions.
Photo: TikTok
The backlash eventually escalated to the mom attempting to doxx Faye and threatening her, which several TikTokers pointed out was "not very Christian" behavior for someone who labels herself a Jesus follower.
Photo: TikTok
Perhaps this mom's intentions were pure, but we should probably all come around to the idea that when kids are crying and scared, they're not in on the joke. And if you can't come up with a good joke without using your kid as a prop, maybe find something else to post.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.