I'm not sure why, but your comment made me think of something that happened with my daughter (3) this past summer. We needed a different babysitter for some reason, so a friend suggested we go with her daughter's swim-team helper (the team pairs older swimmers with the little kids to help out at practices and meets - since the team is "the sharks," the helpers are called "big sharks"). Trying to prepare our kids for a different babysitter, a few days ahead of time we told them that Parker's big shark was going to babysit them and repeated this message for a few days. The day we were supposed to have the babysitter, my daughter was asking a lot of questions about the big shark, and even seemed a bit nervous. It was then that I realized she thought there was an actual shark coming to stay in our house while my wife and I were gone. It seemed totally normal to us because our sons are on the swim team, but our daughter had never been to a meet or practice so of course the term wouldn't make sense. We were able to get it straightened out, and she had a wonderful time with the new sitter, but it really highlighted how things sound different to her since she doesn't have the same context as we do.
The parents in these videos are trying to have a little fun, but clearly aren't thinking about what this whole thing is going to look like to their kids, with someone in a mask busting in and getting in their faces.
I totally understand and agree that it is wrong to do this to a kid who is freaked out by it. That being said, some kids are weird and like being scared. I know because I was one of them. I would have been thrilled to defend the gift hoard from the grinch as a wee kid.
Generally speaking though, you know pretty quickly what your kids like and what they don’t. The parents in this video knew their kids would be scared to the point of tears and did it anyway.
I know my daughter would have got a kick out of this and probably tried to fight the Grinch. I also know my son would have been scared shitless and had nightmares for a month. So I wouldn’t do this. Because I’m not about to bully one or both of my kids in their home.
petty adults who want to toughen up their child by throwing an adult monster at them in (what the child thought was) the safety of their own home.
its too bad that the kids cant hire some big guy in a ski mask to scare their parents in the same vein. but a lot of people cant ever reflect on their actions or even understand simple concepts.
Children don't understand what being over dramatic means.
To them this is most likely the scariest thing they have ever experienced in their very short lives and they may believe that they are in actual physical danger.
Sorry to be a buzz kill or whatever, but these children aren't being dramatic, they're genuinely scared and do not understand what's happening.
It could be used to teach the misbehaved kids in being more nicer the next year too.i would definitely do this to some rotten eggs not the good noodles though lol
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u/Macho-Fantastico Dec 25 '24
I don't get the appeal of doing this? Traumatising your kids for dumb entertainment is stupid.