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It made me tear up because I have a son the same age has that boy and his reaction was exactly as i would imagine my son reacting. He was crying and begging to be picked up. That is truly heart breaking. At age 4 a child should be able to rely on their parents not be turned away and told to bear it. Thats bs in my opinion
It is appalling, but culture DOES definitely play a big role here, though it is by no means an 'excuse'. I was born in the former Soviet Union where the overall society attitudes and approaches to child rearing used to be very similar to the chinese 'tiger parenting', and pretty horrible treatment of children was widespread and accepted as normal across the board. My dad tells stories of various sports he did as a kid - some of the approaches the trainers used were downright inhumane; when he was 15 he did wrestling and had to be below a certain weight for the cut-off for a competition - when it turned out he was over the limit by a couple of kilos the trainer put him into a very hot room with nothing to eat or drink for hours so he'd 'sweat out' the weight . Definitely not all parents were guilty of mistreatment, and there's always some who take it further than others - and some who are just plain abusive, but culture does come into play. Also, what the video made me think of is the commonly accepted russian idea (and perhaps chinese believe in it too) of 'toughening up' the body through exposure to cold. It is a common practice to systematically expose kids and babies to colder temperatures, do cold or contrasting temperature baths, and for adults, drastic temperature changes like running from a sauna to an ice bath in the snow. It's believed to be extremely healthy, build up the immune system and prevent illness. Personally I think it's a bunch of b.s. and have no idea if that's what that dad was trying to do, but just wanted to point that out. Point is, it could very well be that the father sincerely believed it was a good thing for his son's health - no matter how misguided that might be or that he seemingly lacks any empathy, i still believe that somehow differentiates it from plain abuse where he's doing it just for the pure purpose of torturing the boy, if that makes sense.
Last edited by EvilCookie; 02-14-2012 at 11:00 PM..
it is very dangerous to allow intentions to rule this situation or others. Good intentions can have horrible results and as parents we should be able to "toughen" up our children without humiliating them or compromise their trust in us to always protect us.
I'd really like to force that dad to strip naked and run around my neighborhood. You know, "to challenge his limitations and exceed his own expectations" like the dad believes for his son. My only regret would be that the temperature here has risen from 11 to 34 degrees F.
Cutting weight as its called is a common practice in high school in the united states. I remember in high school (02) see ing wrestlers in sauna suits running laps to sweat out a pound or more sometimes.
While the video is disturbing I do understand that the Chinese culture is different from our culture. However since this took place on the streets of NY where raising your voice is considered by some to be abuse I find it surprising that the Police were not called to the scene to investigate.
The Scandinavians do something similar.
A friends mom use to put him in a bassinet when he was a baby and expose him to the cold by placing him on the porch during the winter.
Scandinavia, as much of the East Coast and Northern Europe, has experienced an especially cold and snow-filled winter. Yet chilly temperatures and massive snow won't stop Scandinavian and Icelandic moms from their age-old practice of parking baby prams outside in all weathers...and leaving the babies napping.
"We are all raised with the thought that all outside is good for you," said Gothenburger Anna-Sara Roucoulet. "And I think the kids sleep a lot better when outside. Calms them down, I guess."
"It is a common thing here in Iceland for parents to have their babies sleep outside.Many parents believe good, fresh air is a key factor for a good sleep for babies, and also believe it's good for their health and will make them stronger." - Arnar Hjaltestad, Icelandic guide.
No wonder why we got fat and soft, we coddle our young.
Sleeping outside dressed in a pram is far far different than making a child in his underwear do pushups in the snow. We also "condition" our son I suppose you would say. My husband and I both enjoy the cold more than the hot. Our son hates hot weather. In the dead of winter it is not unusual to find our entire family wearing just jeans sneakers and hoodies. No crazy layers no heavy coats, just sweaters. He is good with cold because its always been that way. But naked in the snow? no f-in way!
Also I agree that sleeping outside is better than inside!! Put me in a tent, i sleep like a baby!! We always have our windows open, every window in my house is cracked right now actually.
How do you know how the kid is bundled up in that pram and they are not attended, Mom and dad are inside. This kid was being attendant to.
If he did need help I'm sure Dad or mom would have stepped in and not let him fall prey to hypothermia.
The kid had shoes on, as long as he kept running he would stay warm.
You be as out raged if the kid wasn't whining?
Our ski coach would take us for our twice a week run
during the winter and all we had on was shoes & shorts girls got to wear t-shirts and some of the whining guys too.
The last mile was shoes optional.
we all lived and we still have all 10 toes.
When you live in a cold climate you should learn at a young age how to deal with the cold.
It could save your life or at least your fingers and toes.
Sometimes it's easy to get enraged at what we do not know.
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. Definitely not all parents were guilty of mistreatment, and there's always some who take it further than others - and some who are just plain abusive, but culture does come into play. Also, what the video made me think of is the commonly accepted russian idea (and perhaps chinese believe in it too) of 'toughening up' the body through exposure to cold. It is a common practice to systematically expose kids and babies to colder temperatures, do cold or contrasting temperature baths, and for adults, drastic temperature changes like running from a sauna to an ice bath in the snow. It's believed to be extremely healthy, build up the immune system and prevent illness. Personally I think it's a bunch of b.s.
and have no idea if that's what that dad was trying to do, but just wanted to point that out. Point is, it could very well be that the father sincerely believed it was a good thing for his son's health - no matter how misguided that might be or that he seemingly lacks any empathy, i still believe that somehow differentiates it from plain abuse where he's doing it just for the pure purpose of torturing the boy, if that makes sense.
