The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsIncitatus
(5,317 posts)But I have to say this is an asshole prank and the parents that went along with it are jerks.
trumad
(41,692 posts)I'm beginning to think there are a vast swath of u man's with sticks up their asses.
Incitatus
(5,317 posts)I am probably near the extreme of the spectrum. But when it comes to kids, I see a difference. When you make your own child think you did something very mean to them and it causes them psychological pain, if only temporary, I just don't find it funny. When I do have kids, I don't think I would do that to them.
I guess I am like the type that is offended by jokes that I find funny. Humor is subjective.
But I don't think causing your own kid to cry because you lied to them is funny.
Kimmel has some bits that make me LMAO, but I'm sorry this one is a fail.
nolabear
(42,009 posts)If it's funny to make a little kid's world come crashing down, even for ten seconds, then I'll happily claim that stick.
alphafemale
(18,497 posts)It is a way to toughen you up for the world in a loving way.
This thread is showing how soft people are becoming.
The world is NOT soft.
Nor should it be.
MiddleFingerMom
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alphafemale
(18,497 posts)ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)Those parents are assholes, and the video is not funny.
Demo_Chris
(6,234 posts)Ptah
(33,057 posts)Parents bulling their own children is not funny.
MiddleFingerMom
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These ARE asshole parents being emotionally abusive to children.
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I wish CPS would follow up on these.
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pipi_k
(21,020 posts)that "prank" is funny either doesn't know, or doesn't care, that, to little kids, their Halloween candy is, for a time, the center of their universe.
The only way that "prank" is remotely funny is if the following pranks are also hilarious...
Prank 1:
Man to wife: "Honey, I have a confession to make...I slept with your sister"
Wife: "WHAT????? You asshole! How could you do this to me and the kids???"
Husband: "Ha ha...just kidding! I really got you going for a second, didn't I?"
Prank 2:
Wife to husband: "Honey, we need to talk. I've been sleeping with your best friend, and I don't think you're the father of any of our kids".
Husband: "Where is that dirty bastard!!! I'll kill him!!!"
Wife: "Oh, lighten up! I was just kidding! Ha. ha. Joke's on you"
Prank 3:
Best friend impersonating a doctor: "Sir, I'm Dr. Smith at ____ Hospital. I'm afraid your father has suffered a heart attack and may not survive".
You: OMG!!! OMG!!! I have to get there now!
Friend: "Fred, it's me...Bob! April fool! ha hahahahahah!!!"
Yeah. real funny.
That's how unfunny it is to tease a little kid.
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)Avalux
(35,015 posts)Intentionally putting kids through psychological trauma isn't funny, it's sadistic.
trumad
(41,692 posts)It's called a prank.
Avalux
(35,015 posts)I'm not against pranks, but this seems unusually cruel to me...maybe because halloween candy is such a huge deal to little ones. I don't know...I could feel their pain so was difficult to find it funny.
trumad
(41,692 posts)Pranks are part of life. I am almost certain that these kids will not be scarred by this 10 minute prank.
Ptah
(33,057 posts)But Mark Barnett, whos a professor at Kansas States psychological sciences department,
says its not harmless fun. He says its cruel and potentially damaging. Barnett says,
A childs trust in his parents shouldnt be trifled with. And he says any parent whod
violate that trust for a big laugh or 15 minutes of fame is acting irresponsibly.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/tv/2013/11/07/experts-blast-kimmel-halloween-prank-as-cruel-damaging-to-kids/
Avalux
(35,015 posts)I'm just wondering....I guess everyone parents differently.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)to be funny to everyone involved.
Not just the people pulling them.
Here's an example...years ago I had a running prank going with someone I lived with that involved little pancakes. Neither of us knew where a pancake would show up...in the car...under a pillow...in the sock drawer.
Pulling a prank like that with kids would be a hoot because nobody ends up crying.
And here's the shitty thing about what those parents did...life is going to hurt those kids badly enough (losing beloved pets, best friends moving away, being teased in school, etc.) without their own parents making them cry for no other reason than for their own sick amusement.
Agschmid
(28,749 posts)Oh DU you are so unpredictable.
nolabear
(42,009 posts)How can you expect a kid to trust you when you deliberately hurt them like that? First, lie in a way that will cause anger and disappointment, then laugh at them when they react in a perfectly appropriate fashion. Great.
vanlassie
(5,695 posts)the very people he relies on for his security and well being is being set up for a very insecure future indeed. Terribly sad.
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)Agschmid
(28,749 posts)frogmarch
(12,162 posts)Anyone who would pull this candy prank on a kid is a sadistic bully.
Agschmid
(28,749 posts)Aren't broad brush generalizations awesome... They make life so easy for us all.
frogmarch
(12,162 posts)I stand by what I said in my previous post: Anyone who would pull the candy prank on a kid is a sadistic bully.
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)it's very troubling, and sick.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)It might be a whole different thing if those parents sounded the least bit sorry for making their kids cry.
No. They actually laugh.
People who laugh at someone else's (real) pain...especially a kid's...are sadists.
Taitertots
(7,745 posts)Mean "pranks" are just being an asshole. Calling it a "prank" is just the justification that sadistic bullies use to justify it to themselves/others.
NJCher
(35,842 posts)That not a soul on this thread has perpetuated the Santa Claus lie.
Cher
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)doesn't involve making a kid cry.
And when kids find out there is no Santa Claus, many of them are old enough to realize that their parents probably gave up a lot of stuff they might have wanted just to buy stuff for the kids.
My family didn't have a whole lot of money, so when I discovered who Santa Claus really was, I wondered how in the world my parents could have afforded toys and clothing for us kids.
Santa Claus is not a mean spirited "prank".
vanlassie
(5,695 posts)Children are given the chance to fantasize until they are ready to recognize the difference between fantasy and reality. When they realize the story of Santa Clause is really the story of parents doing something warm and wonderful for them they are able to see that someone was there for them all the time. Of course mature parents don't overdo the Santa myth. If they did they would be much like the ones tricking their kids about the candy
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)a gradual process...the discovery that there is no Santa.
I actually suspected for some time, as the name tags were written in my father's very distinctive and precise hand. Printed, really. I don't think I ever saw anything in cursive written by my father.
anyway, that was the first clue.
Kids who are smart enough often find out way before their parents suspect they know.
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)Throd
(7,208 posts)I like to joke with my girls all the time, but making them cry has never been a component.
MiddleFingerMom
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1. It makes me think of parents with Munchausen's Disease by Proxy... "Münchausen syndrome by proxy
refers to the abuse of another person, typically a child, in order to seek attention or sympathy for the abuser."
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Parents participating in this are emotionally abusing that child/those children in order to have "5 minutes of fame/ATTENTION".
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Just a thought -- if you were babysitting that child/those children and decided to pull this prank on them,
would you show the parents the videotape and say, "Check this shit out -- it's freakiin' HILARIOUS!!!!
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There's a good chance those parents would have a kneejerk reaction and give you a beatdown for having
abused their child... and THEN call the police. And there's not a jury in the country that would convict THEM.
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nolabear
(42,009 posts)Very, very well put, MFM.
Taitertots
(7,745 posts)Are these people really sitting around their house watching this video and laughing about how they made their children cry? Disgusting bully behavior.