“Divided Over a Prank: Dad Sparks Fury Online After Wife’s Unforgiving Reaction”
Pranking children, especially seeking online fame, is needlessly cruel
Image credits: RDNE Stock project / pexels (not the actual photo)
Children losing trust in adults or being frightened they might scare them again are arguably two of the main reasons some individuals would never consider pranking kids. A survey on potential April Fool’s targets found that more than half of pranksters—56% to be exact—would never joke around at the expense of a young child. Unfortunately, some people would; and to make matters worse, they might do it “for the likes”.
“My sense is that parents prank on just what they know will trigger their children. If that sounds cruel and heartless, it is because it is,” Dr. Michnick Golinkoff said, adding that pranking kids has apparently become a new trend and it is awful.
“Before you prank a child, consider whether that is the best way to generate a few laughs,” the expert suggested. “Posting the child’s reaction on social media should be prohibited because I think in some cases, this is the parent’s motivation in hopes that it will go viral. Please, no. Please think about how you would have felt as a child to have the rug pulled out from under you.”
Dr. Michnick Golinkoff continued to point out that there’s nothing wrong with lightly teasing your child—only if not in a cruel way!— or using humor with them. But, according to her, people who care about kids should recognize that pranking does not come from a caring place; which is arguably why quite a few netizens in the comments criticized the OP for his behavior.
