Mom Distraught With Daughter Who Made TikTok Videos With Racial Tones to Gain Followers

The mother of a middle schooler who made TikTok videos with racial tones had expressed her disappointment with her daughter and extended her apologies to the school community.

The mom, who preferred to be unnamed, told WFTV9 that she was hurt and distraught that her daughter would even post such content and understood why some parents at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Seminole County, Florida, reacted strongly to the videos. She said that her daughter made the content to get a lot of followers and likes after watching other kids on the social media platform.

The video consisted of students pointing at the camera and uttering dubbed racial slurs over and over again. The final shot had a kid doing a monkey face. It was taken down from TikTok about three hours after it was posted because of complaints from the parents.

Parents are not happy with the video

According to Fox35, the children who joined the video didn't know what it was for and where it would be uploaded afterward until they saw the content on TikTok. Mom Miranda Burnazi said she was unhappy to see it and knew something had to be done. Another mom, Jean Laboy, described the content as bad for the kids to pick up on.

Sarah Mansur-Blythe, the school principal, had to issue a statement to appease the outraged parents and inform the school community that the police had been involved with the investigation. Before knowing who owned the video, Mansur-Blythe also said that those responsible could face school disciplinary or legal actions.

But the girl's mom said her daughter deeply regretted creating and posting the content and now understood that she made the wrong choice. Her mother showed her that having followers and likes on social media is unimportant.

The mom also made her daughter delete the video and then took her to the school principal's office the next day. The child was asked to stay home for two days while her parents removed her internet privilege.

However, despite confessing and apologizing for her mistake, the mother said that her daughter had been harassed in school and labeled as a racist. The mom has made a plea to the other parents to talk to their children.

"Let them understand how dangerous social media can be. How hurtful it can be," the mother said. "Again, I can only apologize."

Helping kids avoid trouble for follows or likes on social media

Meanwhile, a Florida mental health professional wants to help parents with kids who are into social media. Cherlette McCullough said that kids today communicate online, which means their social media activities are inevitable. Thus, their parents must proactively guide their children from getting into trouble or making faux pas for follows and likes, per Yahoo.

McCullough said that the middle school child at the center of this controversy is someone who aspires to be popular in school. Her idea to copy another TikTok user was not the problem. Instead, it's her lack of good understanding of the racial issues in the country that made the video problematic.

The therapist said parents must make it a habit to discuss social issues at home with their children so their ignorance won't lead to harm. She said topics like offensive talk and words that should never be said are vital to these discussions, alongside their experiences on social media.