[Video below.] The latest childhood-moment-turned-viral-video isn’t exactly heartwarming. A controversial video a father shot of his four-year-old son running through the snow, wearing nothing but his underwear and a pair of shoes, has sparked cries of abuse.
On a visit to the States, He Liesheng of Nanjing, China, filmed his young son whimpering and shuddering during an icy run through the streets of New York City. The video, posted anonymously after dad, He, emailed it to friends, is at the center of a debate: Is this child abuse or just extreme parenting?
A source close to the family says the demands the father made on his son were borne out of love. “This child has received all sorts of forms of training since he was small,” He’s personal assistant Xin Lijuan, said in an interview with AFP. “When he was one, he started swimming in water that was 21 degrees Celsius.” Born with several health problems, the boy’s parents have used these extreme methods to try to boost their son’s immunity. And they believe it’s working, claiming the boy rarely has a cold or fever.
But the physical pain endured and the threat of hypothermia the child faced have an army of online commenters and child advocates calling the incident child cruelty. “This is what we would call child abuse,” Jannah Bailey, executive director of Child Protect, an Alabama-based advocacy organization for abused children, tells Shine. “[The boy] was definitely was not enjoying it and it’s not an appropriate punishment for a four-year-old.”
A few commenters on He’s video were conflicted: “His father is cruel, but what he did is for the boy’s good. He won’t be like today’s children who are only able to play with cell phones and computers,” writes a viewer. Others only admonished the parents if they forced this kind of exposure on their child regularly.
But Bailey believes a video like this raises a red flag. “When a child is cold that’s a parent’s responsibility to keep them warm.” If he fails at that, it may be a sign of bigger problems when the camera is turned off.
As the Internet becomes a melting pot of shared experiences, it’s raising some difficult questions. When do you blow the whistle on a stranger’s parenting practice. And, in a global society, is it fair to judge by your own standards?
Click below to watch the video:
{Shine/Matzav.com Newscenter}
abuse, abuse, abuse! horrible and sickening!
He wang du wong number
Didn’t some athletes go into a tank of liquid nitrogen to heal some joint or muscle ailment?
Maybe the father is on to something. I just don’t see how this went from health treatment to punishment- is the father trying to boost the immune system or was it a punishment?
I’m not agreeing with the methology- but its a lesson in live we so often learn – we go through grueling hardships to get positive results -e.g. Yitsiyas Mitzraim.
K9 is blocking video
lock him up! sicko!
to 4. i hate K9!!!
It’s actually not so cold this winter. THe kid probably enjoys it. Like anything new though, it merely takes time to get used to it.
Why is this video blocked by my filter?
to rebel that happened to me to
The Father should be shot!
looks like matsui when he was a baby
If I recall correctly there was some gadel in the last 250 years or so who had his child roll in snow w/ minimal clothes for self discipline. Also if I recall some 30 years ago somewhere in Japan they had kids running around on shorts also in freezing weather as training for their kids. Most were so used to it they didn’t even show signs of being cold.
I’m sure child protective services will really gloat over this case.
Awwww, he’s just training him to be a ninja, folks. No big deal. :/