A dad has ignited a heated debate online after he shared the ‘humiliating’ punishment he gave his young son.
Derek Longstreth, from the US state of Wisconsin, forced his four-year-old to lug six large bottles of water across their yard after the boy “hit his mum”.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Dad sparks fury with son’s ‘humiliating’ punishment.
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“All right little man, let’s go, you’ve got all these jugs to carry,” Longstreth told his son in a now viral video on TikTok.
“You want to tell (the viewers) why you’ve got to carry these jugs?
“He hit his mum today.”
The dad explained to the 1.9 million viewers that he resorted to this punishment because, these days, “spanking is out of the question”.
For eight long minutes, the young boy is seen carrying the bottles of water between the house and the back fence, which the dad claims is a rough distance of 15m.
“Grab these jugs, take them to the fence, let’s go young man,” he said.
“I love you, just so you know, but you’re not gonna hit your mum.
“I love you, son. But we do not hit women in this family.”
The dad doesn’t let up even when his son groans in apparent pain.
“I want you to know that your mum loves you, you don’t hit your mum,” the dad said.
“You don’t throw stuff at your mum. I wasn’t even out of the house for 20 minutes.”
Longstreth even made the point that his son was on TikTok.
“Say hi, you’re on TikTok, say hi,” the dad said, to which “T bone” replied with a quiet “Hi”.
After the four-year-old completed the journey, it was time for him to lug the jugs back to where he started.
“Take your time, good job, buddy,” the dad said, offering up words of encouragement.
The dad called his son an “old soul” who is being raised in today’s society by a “gen X dad”.
“He’s going to have fun,” Longstreth said sarcastically.
“I dare him to hit his mum again, he’ll be going around the house with the jugs.
“I love this little s*** so much.”
The dad defended his action and asked any commenters who opposed the punishment to keep negative opinions to themselves.
“If you have negative comments, you’re probably the reason I can’t spank my child,” he said.
“He’s fine, he’s four-and-a-half, almost five, these are only water jugs, not filled with cement.”
By the time “T Bone” completed the gruelling task, the dad believed he had carried roughly 26 litres of water back and forward.
“I’m still mad that he hit his mum, but he carried that,” the dad said, before asking his son whether he’ll hit his mum again and to apologise.
His son obliged, saying “Sorry mum”.
“Look at me, I love you buddy. I just don’t want you to be hitting your mum,” Longstreth said.
To which his son responded: “I love you too.”
Mixed reactions
The dad’s unusual method of punishment led thousands to share their opinion, with some praising Longstreth.
“Good job dad! ‘We don’t hit women’ punishment with love – I love it, showing values and respect. I love this,” one supporter said.
“You’re doing a great job,” another commented.
“The fact that you had him do this while also telling him you love him and reassured him! Letting him know he’s still loved but cannot treat people badly,” a third wrote.
However, many slammed the dad, labelling the task as “child abuse”.
“Forced physical labour is considered child abuse. This is a great way to get CPS (child protective services) involved in your life,” one person declared.
“Better approach is to teach him how to express frustration without throwing things or hitting. Moving water jugs teaches none of these skills,” another said.
Other’s believed the chore achieved little to nothing.
“This lil guy learned zero – he’ll be hitting mommy again within a week,” one claimed.
“Uh, no. Lesson, sure. But humiliating him for the world to see, no,” another agreed.
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