A video posted by Bright Side has gone viral, being shared many times over in Facebook and other social media. However, it seems that the video is not as touching as it appears.
Kate Schweitzer from Pop Sugar expressed her disbelief when she saw the video posted by Bright Side. Titled as "How Kids See Mom and Dad", the touching video has received over 14 million views. But for someone as keen as Schweitzer, the video reeks of sexism and stereotyping often found in parenting.
How Kids See Mom And Dad? pic.twitter.com/vqvD2UinWX
— Albert Einstein (@FollowEinstein) April 2, 2016
"How Kids See Mom and Dad"
The video showed the different stages in a child's life and how he perceives his parents at every stage. What he thinks of his mom will be found on the left side, while his thoughts about his dad will be shown on the right. What was shown in the few seconds of the video was true enough, however, as the video progresses, the thoughts become sexist and generalized. As the kid goes beyond age three, the mother takes on the role of a cruel disciplinarian while the father becomes the good cop, allowing the kid to do what he wants. There was a stage where the mom refuses to buy the kid a gadget while the dad concedes and buys him a better one. The video approaches the end with the usual realizations of kids when they finally have their own family. The kid now sees the parents on equal footing.
Implications of the Roles Taken by Parents
While the intention of the video was to generate warm feelings to the parents, some parents didn't take it too kindly. Taking it out to twitter, some parents expressed the same sentiments with Schweitzer.
The "Touching" Tribute to Parents That's Actually Sexist and Stereotypical How kids see mom and dad 100% true we … pic.twitter.com/8jwRTYcrLf — Sarah (@bolhaw5) April 4, 2016
It is unfair to generalize mothers as the bad cop while the dad takes on the better role. Some of the parents like, Schweitzer, are doing their best to be the good ones all the time. She pointed out that it is entirely possible for both parents to take on the good role when it comes to parenting.
In fact, Desiring God writes about the difference between a mother's and father's role. Based on the bible, the father should lead when it comes to discipline. Fathers should take on the role of an initiator or buck stopper. However, it is still in the hands of the parents on how to play a role in their kids' lives. Check out another take on the different roles of mom and dad in the video below:
