How Not To Be A Dad?

Posted under EXTERNAL USE ONLY

So, I found this over the weekend.

I don’t want to color your opinion of it beforehand, so I’ll just let you watch and then we can chat…

What do you think of this dad?

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Of course, we don’t actually know this man and the whole story to his life, so making broad generalizations about him is petty. But I would like to bounce broken bottles off of this dad’s head. Maybe his son will one day grow up to laugh at his father when he’s pooping his due to old age and say, “Your butt is broken…”

We’ve all had moments when we’ve amused ourselves with our kids, whether they’re being ridiculous or petty tyrants, but being malicious about it? It’s make me growl deep inside. I may not be a good father all the time, but I’ll be damned before I’m a sh*thead to my son.

Am I just being sensitive?

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114 Comments

  • Melanie D. says:
    at 5:02 am

    If he was just doing it and didn’t say anything about it, whatever. It’s not like the balls were going to hurt the kid. When his son called him on it and he LIED, that’s where I have a problem with it. Way to teach your kid that he doesn’t have to be responsible for his douchey actions. A reasonable parent would have said something like “Oops, I’m sorry. I’ll try not let the balls hit you next time,” rather than “The balls are broken.”

    Reply
    • charlie says:
      at 8:42 am

      I think that was part of the reason I kept cocking my head. Sure, you’re having a laugh at your kid, but you’re lying to him about it and making fun of him. No pain was caused, but REALLY?

      Reply
      • Rosanne says:
        at 9:45 am

        Yep, it’s the lying. I’ll bounce a plastic ball at my kid (in fact, I plan to now), but I’m not gonna lie about it. We define their reality, for crying out loud. Plus, it’s to our advantage if they trust us.

        The mocking was the last straw. Making fun of your kid for being right about you lying? Really???

        Reply
        • Aine says:
          at 5:46 pm

          I’m glad this was at the top, because that was my thing. I’ve done stuff like that (bounced soft toys off my son) but as soon as he asks me to stop, I stop. If he calls me on it, I say “I’m bouncing them off your head.” and if he laughs and plays along, then we keep playing…

          but lying to your kid like that is wrong. Especially if you don’t stop.

          Reply
          • Matt says:
            at 10:50 am

            +1 on the lying. That’s where he crosses the line into douchery.

  • vincent aka @CuteMonsterDad says:
    at 5:32 am

    When watching the video I was waiting…okay, hoping, the dad would get attacked by a bear.

    “Oh look how great it is hitting my son with the ball..what’s that noise…bea…aaaaaaaaaah!”

    Reply
    • charlie says:
      at 8:43 am

      Bear attacks are common around parents making fun of their kids. Which is not to say, I don’t sometimes make fun of Finn.

      Reply
  • Eli says:
    at 5:33 am

    What is this guy teaching his kid? 1)it’s okay to throw balls in the play area, 2) it’s okay to hit people with balls if you laugh and give a half-hearted “sorry,” 3) not only is it okay to ridicule someone, but it’s okay to video and share it, 4) it’s okay to lie…

    Maybe I’m too sensitive, too, but I’m trying to raise my kids to NOT do that kind of stuff.

    Reply
  • 318 Jimmy Now says:
    at 6:08 am

    I hope he also takes a video of when he explains to his son why it’s OK to throw plastic balls at other kids but it’s not OK to throw rocks.

    Reply
  • Doug Kaye says:
    at 7:04 am

    From what little information this short video clip provides about the character of this man I would certainly call him neither ‘Funny Father’, nor ‘Total Douche Dad’.

    Your post seems like a valid knee-jerk reaction but what do you know about this father outside of the context of this video?

    I’d be more troubled by a parent who teaches his children to categorize the world into two extremely opposite position without taking a more time to understand the people in the situation.

    Reply
    • charlie says:
      at 9:15 am

      I’m glad you’re troubled by me as a parent.

      Reply
      • Doug Kaye says:
        at 9:22 am

        Please don’t read between the lines. I never said I was troubled by you as a parent.

        Reply
        • charlie says:
          at 9:31 am

          You said: “Your post seems like a valid knee-jerk reaction but what do you know about this father outside of the context of this video?”

          Then: “I’d be more troubled by a parent who teaches his children to categorize the world into two extremely opposite position without taking a more time to understand the people in the situation.”

          I’m following your logic, aren’t I?

          Reply
          • Doug Kaye says:
            at 9:51 am

            Not really, nowhere did say that I think you teach your children to categorize the world into two extremely opposite positions. I can see how someone would incorrectly infer that though.

            My point was not to judge you, just the options you provided in your poll. So I’ll try to clarify my point;

            Do I think that his behavior was poor parenting… yes. Does that make him a ‘Total Douche Dad’… no.

        • Lisa says:
          at 11:56 am

          That’s the beauty of a passive aggressive comment, isn’t it? Plausible deniability. If you don’t think that by this post, Charlie was teaching his children to categorize the world in two extreme opposite positions, then why make the comment. If you didn’t mean to infer that, then your comment makes no sense.

          I hope you aren’t teaching your children to make passive aggressive comments and then denying them when someone calls you out on it. In our house we call that lying.

          Reply
          • Lisa says:
            at 11:57 am

            ps. the guy is a total duchy.

          • Jeff says:
            at 8:58 pm

            Probably the best comment in this thread.

            also… he’s definitely a douche.

          • Brad says:
            at 5:43 am

            *Thumbs up Lisa’s comment*

          • Doug Kaye says:
            at 11:50 am

            I don’t understand why my comments don’t make sense to you Lisa.

            The gist of the post seems to be that what the father does in the video is upsetting to Charlie. Charlie doesn’t actually say ‘this man is a douche’ and he even updated the post to warn about making broad generalizations so I don’t know why you would think I am specifically referring to Charlie in my comments. He gives us the readers the option of categorizing this father as a douche of funny and this is what I found troubling about the post and I made the comment about teaching children this type of behavior to point out how wrong I think it is.

            I enjoy reading this blog and find most of what Charlie writes to be creative and funny. I’ve already tried to clarify with Charlie directly that I’m not troubled by his parenting. I can’t be more succinct then I’ve already been on that point. So to imply that I’m being passive aggressive and therefore a liar Lisa doesn’t make sense.

    • Hayley says:
      at 9:29 am

      At least the categorizing is being done for an adult audience, not with or in front of his kids?

      Reply
  • Aaron says:
    at 7:17 am

    You’re not just being sensitive. I wasn’t infuriated at him immediately, although I definitely wasn’t crazy about the idea that he was purposely trying to hit his son with the balls on purpose; at the very least, he’s very unlikely to actually hurt his son and with a kid that age, I can see bothering him a little bit.

    That being said, the kid specifically asks his dad to stop. Without laughing. If the kid is laughing and is joining in on the “joke,” that’s one thing. If he’s getting annoyed, leave him alone.

    Moron…

    Reply
    • charlie says:
      at 9:16 am

      Yeah, at first, I thought… “let’s see how this develops” and then he was laughing while the kid has a ‘stop dad’ look on his face. Seconded.

      Reply
  • Susie says:
    at 8:03 am

    This is the same parent that will wonder why their kid doesn’t listen and obey when they are a teen…

    Reply
  • Peter says:
    at 8:17 am

    I don’t think there’s anything wrong with physical play.
    I do think there’s something wrong with lying to your kid.

    There’s also something wrong with physical play when the small one isn’t enjoying it and when the big one is doing it out of maliciousness. That said, we are judging how the kid feels and how the parent feels from this video and we are projecting ourselves and our kids into them. Maybe this is how they play. Maybe the kid isn’t a giggling type and maybe when he’s upset he cries. We don’t have a full enough picture of these two people and their relationship to judge. I see this happen on the internet a lot. Someone posts a picture of their kid that they found funny and other people, not knowing the parent or the kid, interpret it as cruel and then they judge and get angry.

    In other words, chill out.

    Reply
    • charlie says:
      at 9:17 am

      Thanks, I needed to chill out today.

      Reply
    • Bill M says:
      at 9:35 am

      I think Peter hit it right on the head. Plus, with this being the internet, it seems that most people are looking for a reason to be outraged at anything they can.

      Chill. The kid didn’t look all that distraught if you ask me. Which you didn’t.

      Reply
      • charlie says:
        at 9:46 am

        I’m not outraged, Bill. I’m confused.

        Reply
        • Bill M says:
          at 9:50 am

          Charlie, I apologize. I wasn’t referring to you specifically being outraged. Reading some of the other comments led me to say that. There is outrage afoot!

          Reply
  • Peter says:
    at 8:21 am

    Also, remember that you are being judged in the very same way every time you are in public and your kid isn’t giggling. If anyone sees your kid frowning or crying and you not actively trying to make them happier then they are assuming you are a bad parent.

    Your poll needs a third option: I don’t have enough information to judge.

    (Also, I glossed over this before, but I think lying to your kid teaches a bad lesson. I don’t think it’s ok. There I can say the dad is making a mistake in my opinion.)

    Reply
    • charlie says:
      at 9:18 am

      So, I shouldn’t be frustrated with the dad because we don’t enough information but it’s not okay to lie so I should be frustrated with him?

      Reply
      • Peter says:
        at 9:59 am

        I’m saying we don’t have enough information to judge whether he’s being cruel or funny with the balls on the head thing. We also don’t really have enough information to judge whether he’s lying to his kid or joking. Maybe right after the camera goes off he says “I’m just playing with you; I really was throwing balls at your head.” Maybe he doesn’t. Maybe they have a good laugh about it, maybe they don’t.

        All I know is I don’t post videos of my kid online for the public to see and judge.

        Reply
  • Stacey says:
    at 9:22 am

    I dunno, I think you might be oversensitive. I’m pretty physical with my kids when we play, we wrestle hard enough to hurt each other (though they hurt me MORE because they aren’t careful and don’t hold back ANYTHING), and I routinely prank them. Maybe I’m a horrible parent in your eyes, but so far they are well adjusted, funny, and mostly sweet.
    And my 2nd will give you the most deadpan look and tell you to stop, then when you turn your back she’ll get you. Don’t buy into what you see as the whole context.

    Reply
  • Nichole Been says:
    at 9:24 am

    I think he sucks. It’s funny when anyone accidentally gets pegged, but to intentionally be a jerk, and laugh at it, and LIE is rotten. You can hear his smugness. Yesterday we were playing at the obstacle course I built, and my four year old invented a part where he had to dodge a ball. I purposely tried to AVOID him, but still make it fun. Before I knew it he was trying to get hit, which made me try harder to avoid him, or toss it gently. Goofball. It makes me sad when parents are jerks on purpose. This guy is going to wonder at some point in the future why his kid doesn’t listen to him or trust him. Hopefully he changes his tune before then. P.S. I’m bad at commenting normally, but LOVE your blog. Y’all rock.

    Reply
  • Nichole Been says:
    at 9:24 am

    I think he sucks. It’s funny when anyone accidentally gets pegged, but to intentionally be a jerk, and laugh at it, and LIE is rotten. You can hear his smugness. Yesterday we were playing at the obstacle course I built, and my four year old invented a part where he had to dodge a ball. I purposely tried to AVOID him, but still make it fun. Before I knew it he was trying to get hit, which made me try harder to avoid him, or toss it gently. Goofball. It makes me sad when parents are jerks on purpose. This guy is going to wonder at some point in the future why his kid doesn’t listen to him or trust him. Hopefully he changes his tune before then. P.S. I’m bad at commenting normally, but LOVE your blog. Y’all rock.

    Reply
  • Jim T says:
    at 9:27 am

    Father’s a bully. He isn’t playing with his kid or teaching him anything except how to lie, and be mean. My vote is for Douche.

    Reply
    • Bill M says:
      at 9:40 am

      Teaching him to lie? So, do your kids not believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy? In the interest of being totally 100% open and honest, are you taking that little bit of magic away from them?

      No, it’s not the exact same thing. (Before you blast me for the obvious difference) but at the core, by your definition, it’s lying.

      Reply
      • charlie says:
        at 9:47 am

        If I blast you, you’d know it. The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus aren’t laughs at the expense of kids, that’s all.

        Reply
      • Peter says:
        at 10:01 am

        My daughter knows I take her tooth and leave a present. I’m pretty hardcore about not lying to her. I also realize most people aren’t like me in the regard and I’m cool with that.

        I find it amusing that she believes the Tooth Fairy knows I’ve been helping out so she doesn’t need to come to our house.

        Reply
    • charlie says:
      at 9:41 am

      Word.

      Reply
      • Geri says:
        at 8:52 am

        I never lied to my son about Santa, Easter bunny, or tooth fairy. I explained that each was a game and that part of the game was that he pretended and I pretended. I also told him that we did not tell others about the game because that was part of the game. He loved the game and, unlike many children, he never had the trauma of finding out I had been untruthful with him.

        Reply
  • Duffer says:
    at 9:28 am

    Would cease to be funny when his kid started doing it to my kid and wouldn’t stop because his douchebag dad modeled how to be a dick.

    Reply
    • charlie says:
      at 9:32 am

      Duffer, how to be a dick is my next website. Please don’t steal it.

      Reply
      • Jessica says:
        at 3:01 pm

        But who’s going to develop it’s companion website: How to be a dick – for women?

        Reply
  • Dawn says:
    at 9:28 am

    I kept thinking that maybe the son won’t stop doing that and it keeps hitting other kids…so the father was trying to show him what happens. But no, he’s just being a douche bag, you’re right, he’s a douche dad.

    Reply
  • Sandra T says:
    at 9:29 am

    I would say he is a bit of a dick. OK, I make fun of my kids sometimes but not to the point that they give me evil looks to stop. Plus my main issue with this is that he’s mocking his kid for shits and giggles, but then lies about it. Own it, man, own it…

    Reply
  • Tanya says:
    at 9:31 am

    I don’t know if he’s a Douche Dad but posting that video was certainly douch-ie in my opinion. Why make his son the butt of such a public joke?

    Reply
  • Jim MacQ says:
    at 9:33 am

    Messing with your kid can be fun, but there’s a limit. I messed with my kids on a regular basis, pulling pranks and such. Once they figured it out, they usually laughed too.

    Throwing things at your kid is an abuse of power, because the kid can’t throw back with the same accuracy and force, and it’s not a level playing field.

    Laughing in the kid’s face as you lie to him about what you’re doing is malicious.

    But recording it and putting it up on You Tube so other jerks can laugh as you being mean to your kid, that’s what pushes him into douche territory.

    Reply
  • Jason Good says:
    at 9:34 am

    How to be a dad without growing up = douche

    Reply
  • Andrew says:
    at 9:41 am

    I made to 35 seconds then turned it off. I ask “Why?” I love to fool around with my son (3) but there is a limit. We are here to teach our children the ways of life not matter what age they maybe. Have fun with them but watch out for the line. That, that is just…well, sad.

    Reply
  • Lauren says:
    at 9:46 am

    I’m pretty sure this is what happens when bullies grow up to have kids of their own.

    I don’t think you are being sensitive, and I do think you know enough to make a judgement. Is he acting like a douche in this video? Absolutely. Is he always a jerk to his kid? Maybe not, but where there’s smoke there’s fire. I’m so tired of people saying we can’t judge anyone. Our brains are designed to help us make quick decisions, and most of the time we’re right. I trust my instincts, especially when it comes to the well being of my, or anyone else’s, children. Who cares about this guy’s feelings? He’s being a douche and bullying his kid.

    Reply
  • Amanda says:
    at 9:50 am

    I’m gonna go ahead and vote douche. He lied to his kid and continued to annoy him and model terrible behavior. Is he malicious? Maybe abusive? Not sure. But definitely an idiot. The guy needs to grow up.

    Reply
  • JeninCanada says:
    at 9:52 am

    Douche for sure. Grrrrrrrrr.

    Reply
  • Ken says:
    at 9:53 am

    I play games like this with my son too…and my daughter for that matter.

    The dad isn’t throwing 90mph fast balls, he’s bouncing a hollow plastic ball off of a tube and letting it hit his kid…Look at it this way, the dad is actively engaging with is kid, not sitting across the room, looking at his phone, playing on facebook, etc. He is PLAYING WITH HIS KID.

    Nobody is getting hurt, nobody is crying, in fact the kid is laughing. When the kid grows up and see’s this video, he will likely continue to laugh and will pull equally hilarious pranks on his dad.

    Calm down my friend. This isn’t a tragedy, this is good ol’ fashioned fun between a dad and his son.

    Reply
    • Ken says:
      at 9:56 am

      Before I get corrected, I watched the whole thing again, and it was another kid laughing…doesn’t change the theme of my comment, but I will agree that the kid wasn’t laughing. He was calmly and succinctly explaining that the balls were hitting him. Still not a tragedy.

      Reply
  • Norte says:
    at 9:53 am

    Full disclosure, I play a very similar game with my little girl, although with a softer ball. She absolutely loves it. But then, she knows I do it and asks for more when I stop. So the game itself I’d say is pretty harmless. But lying to the kid and laughing at him puts the guy in pretty solid douche territory.

    And was anyone else just waiting for him to nail someone else’s kid and expecting him to laugh?

    Reply
  • Nikki says:
    at 9:56 am

    yeah, my husband bounces balls off our sons head, causing no pain and he laughs about it then brings the ball right back to Daddy to do it again. This dad however, was a douche to respond with a lie and just the way he talk to his son I did not like.

    Reply
    • Dawn Marie says:
      at 10:33 am

      My hubs does the same thing with our boys as Nikki and Norte said. And again the kids know he is doing it. And when they say stop he stops. When he is throwing a ball at their heads he also tells them to put their hands up to catch it. And they don’t play “throw the ball in my face” game in public.
      It is a game, but you don’t lie about your actions and you don’t continue to do those things when your kid says stop.

      Reply
  • Peter says:
    at 10:05 am

    Also, you need to be aware that when you share a video of some stranger and say “Look at what a douche he’s being” you put that family at real risk. People like to go crazy over these things: dig up their personal information and post it in public forums, spam them, make harassing phone calls, make death threats. No I’m not kidding. You better hope this thing doesn’t hit reddit or 4chan.

    Reply
    • Dad Moon Rising says:
      at 9:11 pm

      But…… the guy put the video on the internet and it’s public.

      Who is at fault here? Charlie for essentially passing it along or the dad for putting it up in the first place?

      It’s as likely to end up on Reddit or something regardless of being posted here.

      Just my .02.

      Also, just posting it gets this a douche vote. Doing it is one thing, ignoring your kid is another but the ultimate D-bag move is sharing it with the world.

      Reply
  • charlotte says:
    at 10:09 am

    I will admit, when my kids (4 and 5) have a balloon or a ball that wouldn’t hurt when you get hit with it. I will bounce it on their head, and they do it to me back. But if they say stop I stop, and if I say stop they stop. It is a game we play, and I have never seen them play it with their friends, it’s a mommy-son game. But I have never lied about it being an accident.
    Me and my husband have also played with all 3 of our kids where you tap their shoulder and act like you didn’t, but if they are serous about not wanting us to do it we stop. That’s just how we play in our house. No I am not teaching my kids how to lie, we are playing and it is obvious (at least in our family).
    So yeah the guy in the video may have taken it to far (his son obviously didn’t want him to do it), but I could see me and my kids playing like that, as long as we were all having fun.

    Reply
    • Jessica says:
      at 2:55 pm

      Similar in our house – pillow fights are a big one. I’ve seen my son try to start a pillow fight a couple times at kindy before and once a kid said “Dooooon’t!” and so he just walked away. On a different day another kid took up the challenge with gusto and they had a rollicking 10 minute pillow fight, belly laughing the whole way through.

      Reply
  • Helene says:
    at 10:22 am

    I think you are all reading way too much into this. I trick my child all the time…”Trick”…it’s called a sense of humor. Yes, I’m sure this Lie is going to destroy this young boys sense of self…This world truly has become overly sensitive and dull. I’m sure this father would give his life for his son and loves him just as much as all of you love your children.

    Reply
  • Phil says:
    at 10:57 am

    I think I would have liked it a lot better if the kid would start throwing balls at his dad’s balls. At least it might have made it on America’s Funniest Videos.

    Reply
  • Sarah says:
    at 11:33 am

    His kid knows what’s up. He’s not stupid. He’s also learning not to trust his dad. His dad will pay for this threefold down the line.

    Reply
  • Marilyn says:
    at 11:40 am

    One or two bounces, with honesty, might have been fine. Something more constructive, for father/son time, would have been to show his son how to bounce balls to go where he wanted them to. If his son was not throwing balls at him in return, I think it’s quite clear that that was not the sort of play he desired. While parents certainly need giggles at their children’s expense, the most important thing to remember is that it’s not really about us. It’s about THEM. We have been given an awesome responsibility to take care of such precious children, and to taint that by mocking and lying–being an adversary, rather than a companion–just sickens me.

    Reply
    • Marilyn says:
      at 11:42 am

      He’s also being taught to not trust anything his father says.

      Reply
  • Lance says:
    at 11:59 am

    I think it would have been ok to do that ball thing ONCE. And even then not if you’re actually being a jerk about it (you know, the “watch this” garbage).

    Reply
  • Mama Char says:
    at 12:49 pm

    No, you’re not being sensitive. Teaching our children to bully is a behavior WORTH admonishing. This guy might think it’s harmless fun, but what message is this sending to his child or others watching? “It’s funny to pester someone, and cause them to be laughed at.” Personally I’d like to cram a dozen of those balls down his throat.

    Reply
  • Jessica says:
    at 1:15 pm

    I throw balls at my kids. The thing is, they think it’s funny. This kid is clearly not amused, AND dad flat out lied to him. Not cool, dad, not cool.

    Reply
  • Jill says:
    at 1:54 pm

    I wasn’t bothered by it until I imagined myself actually doing what the dad was doing. Trying to throw the balls and being impressed with myself when I got a “bank shot”. And not just once (because I have definitely been impressed with myself when I got a bank shot of any kind), but over and over and over. It was like watching that annoying guy in high school who was always trying to hit on girls by being obnoxious.
    But, Total Douche Dad? Nah. Obnoxious parent who will probably turn a perfectly nice little boy into an obnoxious teenager and then complain about the result? Highly likely.
    I was listening to the radio the other day, and the host was interviewing a woman about raising her son. She said, “One day I realized that I was raising someone’s husband.” It doesn’t seem like this Dad had this sort of thing in mind when he was “playing” in the ball pit.
    Also, I tried to teach my kids that fun is only fun when it’s fun for everyone (sorry for sounding like Barney, but I really did make that up all by myself). And, we had a catch phrase: “Once is funny, twice is silly, third time’s a spanking.” I didn’t really spank them for doing funny things three times, but it’s a hint that a LOT of things are only funny once or twice. Then the humor is over.

    Reply
    • Laura Brown says:
      at 9:06 am

      agreed. “raising someone’s husband” this whole situation gets really dark in a hurry when you think about what this kid is learning from his father’s behavior: if you’re bigger and in a position of power, you don’t have to respect another person’s request that you STOP. Yes, this particular game seems harmless on the surface, but if this is this kind of thing dad finds funny, son will soon follow in his footsteps.

      Reply
  • Jessica says:
    at 2:45 pm

    I’ll be honest I voted for funny before I watched the whole thing but would have changed my vote and here’s why:

    I don’t think he’s a douche for doing it deliberately. I would and probably have done something similar BUT in a situation like that once my kid says something about it I would come clean and say “Gotcha!”. This usually results in him doing it back and a hilarious game between the two of us where nobody gets hurt.

    However if my son had reacted the way his did, which was definitely NOT finding it hilarious I would have apologised and stopped.

    He takes to douche-land by failing to demonstrate compassion or empathy, as well as harshing his kid’s good time – but not because he was deliberately lobbing a soft one at his kid’s head. Hell, after my son drew all over our walls the other day with pen I can definitely understand the feeling of wanting to annoy the crap out of your kid sometimes, hahahha.

    Reply
  • Helena says:
    at 5:33 pm

    The ball hitting the kid- whatever. It wasn’t hurting him. The lying is stupid. And once it started bugging the kid, he should have stopped. SO, it started out fine, then got douchey.

    My 10 month old LOVES it when I toss stuffed toys and hit her in the face. She laughs so hard! The first time was an accident, but now we do it all the time! Not hard, just lightly, and they bounce off.

    Reply
  • Cassandra J says:
    at 6:29 pm

    Belittling your children, hilarious NOT!

    Reply
  • Erich says:
    at 12:58 am

    I laughed because I do this too. The only difference is that I admit I tossed the ball at my kid’s noggin (gently, mind you) and then offer for them to take shots at me. it’s harmless fun!

    Reply
  • Chris says:
    at 9:35 am

    I’m not going to lie, I kind of chuckled at the beginning. However once he started lying to his son and laughing about it, then continuing after the son asks him not too, pushed it over the line. If he got in there and let his son take some shots at him, rather than the lying and continuing on, I would have been ok with this.

    Reply
  • M.C.W. says:
    at 11:12 am

    I’m shocked at how judgemental everyone is. We don’t know this guy from Adam and in the world of treating your kids poorly, this guy isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. We don’t all do things exactly the same way and that’s why we get to raise our own kids the way we want to. I hope you are all not as judgemental with people you do know, and I certainly hope that none of you EVER do anything that another parent would disagree with because, well, karma is a bitch.

    Reply
  • Jeff says:
    at 12:27 pm

    Yeah, we don’t know this guy from Adam, but he’s certainly acting douchey… which his child will inherently learn from. Karma certainly is a bitch. I just don’t want the world filled with douchey kids because their fathers tormented them at a place that’s supposed to be fun.

    But you are definitely right, this guy isn’t even the tip of the iceberg in terms of bad parents, so it does seem like a little bit of an overreaction on our part… but then again… who films themselves beating their children and posts it on the internet for us to judge? No one.

    Reply
  • Nick says:
    at 3:39 pm

    Yea, the kid isn’t getting hurt, but that doesn’t really help the dad’s case for duchebaggerie. The filming, laughing, and lying to the kid’s face about the whole thing leaves him no out. I imagine behind the camera, he is wearing a leopard print shirt unbuttoned down to his navel, has a baseball cap turned 3/4 back and placed on top of his greased, frost tipped hair, and is an unnatural shade of orange.

    Reply
  • Jono says:
    at 10:30 pm

    I voted “Funny Father” and now I *know* he is the BEST FATHER IN THE WORLD!!!!!111111

    —

    from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice-supportive_bias

    In cognitive science, choice-supportive bias is the tendency to retroactively ascribe positive attributes to an option one has selected. It is a cognitive bias.

    Reply
  • Y.Garza says:
    at 6:27 am

    I think maybe we are too judgmental. How you raise your kid, is your business. We are seeing a short bit of this man’s life, and we label him a douchebag? Nice. There are moments that my kid is throwing a fit and I walk away mumbling “eff my life” and those around me must think I am a horrible mother but I am not. Maybe this man (like I do with my kid) is teaching him to be thick skinned. I was picked on a lot and it never fazed me, I was never the bullied kid that wanted to commit suicide, I rolled with the punches and rolled them right back. My mom taught me that, most likely by throwing balls at my head and mocking me.

    Reply
  • matt says:
    at 4:24 pm

    Dude,

    You are overreacting… it was hilarious. He didn’t hurt him.

    Reply
    • Tyler says:
      at 1:41 pm

      Physically. He didn’t hurt his son physically. But he taught him that (1) it’s ok to throw stuff at someone’s face, (2) it’s ok to lie, and (3) he shouldn’t trust his dad. There’s all kinds of harm here.

      Reply
  • Sean says:
    at 5:38 am

    Maybe if this guy didn’t want anyone to judge him by a snapshot of his life, then don’t freaking post a snapshot of your life on YouTube. Maybe a video like this would be ok in your own family videos but when you put it out there, we don’t all know the context, hence “you’s a douche”.
    Also, it just seems like this guy is getting his jollies at the expense of his son. Kids worship parents at this age and all it takes is a few times of doing this before they start to trust less and less.

    Reply
  • Amanda says:
    at 8:15 am

    While it may be funny to bounce things off your kid’s head, you never know when they’re going to try it on someone else, so it’s probably just best not to do it. Even though I’ve done it, I also had the bad experience of watching the kid do it to someone else to very bad results… oops…

    Reply
  • Jo says:
    at 8:47 am

    It’s not so much ‘what’ he’s doing here that makes him a jerk. It’s his whole attitude and the fact that he outright lies to his kid. He apologizes and everything, if he were really sorry, he wouldn’t be behaving that way to begin with. That’s not teaching his son very good morals and values at all…just my two cents. The child obviously isn’t being physically hurt here, but is that all we should be worried about???

    Reply
  • Tyler says:
    at 1:39 pm

    I wouldn’t have a problem with this if it was a guy doing it to his friend. It’s all good fun that way. But not your kid.

    What did he do wrong?
    1) He made a game out of trying to hit his son with a ball. What’s he going to say when the kid turns around and starts throwing balls back at his face?
    2) He flat out lied to his son so that he could keep having fun.
    3) He made an entire video about throwing balls at his kid’s face just to be funny. It’s demeaning.

    This is a parenting fail on all levels.

    Reply
  • Sarah says:
    at 5:51 pm

    Total asswipe. Secondly, is that definitely his kid?

    Reply
  • Kendra says:
    at 5:10 pm

    My “knee-jerk” reaction based off the information in the video is that dad is a jerk. He is blatantly disrespecting his son. It’s a sad, sad world when a child has more manners and courtesy than his own parent.

    “Welcome to Costco, I love you”

    Reply
  • Deidre says:
    at 5:21 pm

    No, you’re not being sensitive. Total douchey dad moment.

    Honestly, it would have been one thing if he had done it because it was amusing one time, or hey, it happened on accident. Been there, accidentally hit my child in the head with things and then giggled a bit before apologizing.

    But the kid noticed, asked him, and he LIED. Not only that, he kept doing it, and then said the balls were broken, like it was some fun game to throw balls so that they hit people.

    If his son had done it back to him, he would not have been amused, yet it was fine for him, because hey, he’s the adult, and having a few laughs at the expense of his kid is fine.

    Seriously, that’s just not cool. The kid knew what his dad was doing, obviously didn’t like it, so he KEPT DOING IT ANYWAY, and then LIED and made up some excuses blaming INANIMATE objects, and made a game out of getting a laugh at his kid’s expense.

    Douchey.

    Reply
  • Michelle says:
    at 5:40 pm

    Douche. Maybe he will think it’s funny when his kid grows old enough to not care for the passive aggressive button pushing and wakes up his dad by stomping on his face. “Oh no, maybe my foot is broken? I didn’t stomp on your face! I would never do that, old man.” Then we’ll see who’s laughing.

    And just because I think he’s a douche doesn’t mean I’m saying he’s evil or criminal. But what is he teaching his kid by the whole encounter? I’m just sayin’ karma is real. Very real.

    Reply
  • Jen says:
    at 6:06 pm

    I actually think this is kind of funny. So does my husband. He’s not hurting the kid. 🙂

    Reply
  • Mimi says:
    at 6:10 pm

    I know it’s been said, but I’ll add my voice. It’s the lying about it that bugs me. I mean, sure, bounce a few balls off your kid, but if he doesn’t appreciate it, stop. Just stop.

    Reply
  • Karli says:
    at 6:22 pm

    Funny and harmless. You all are over sensitive. One incident will not make or break this child, and all we know about these people is this one incident. No big deal.

    Reply
  • Jill says:
    at 6:57 pm

    no. dude. not cool.

    Reply
  • Josh says:
    at 7:36 pm

    Douche! Not because he’s doing it, I would. Because he’s lying about it.

    Reply
  • Claire says:
    at 12:11 am

    This is why we have a generation of douche kids, because they learn from their douche parents. Poor child doesn’t stand a chance of becoming a decent human being. I really hope the mum see this and has words.

    Reply
  • Nickol says:
    at 6:23 am

    Yeah, I don’t know that guy. I don’t know HOW he loves his son, or how deeply he does. I’m sure he does. I’m sure that he does in his guts, to the death, loves his son!
    But man, mocking your kid isn’t a good way to show it, neither is lying to them and it’s the total D-bag move to do it in front of strangers.

    Maybe he’s being funny, but no. This guy isn’t impressing me at the expense of his child.

    I may do the same thing (and I’m a mom!) but I’d own up and just tell them, I totally beaned you! Hahaha! That of course would result in a barrage of colorful spheres hurling towards my face. Bring it, shrimps!

    Reply
  • Scott M says:
    at 7:29 am

    It’s really easy for us Dad’s to judge (and Mom’s apparently too… I thought this was a site for dad’s 😉 ) behind the safety of our computers. Where it’s unfortunately difficult to judge is directly in front of the parents doing things we disagree with. So here’s the question… Where were the other parents?? Unfortunately, nowadays everyone’s too afraid to step in between a parent and child when they know they should but I would hope that if I saw this, I would have the guts to step inside the ball pit and throw balls at the DAD’s head. Chances are it would take just 1 ball before that dad would have a fit to which I’d reply, “Now you know how your kid feels!”

    Reply
  • Boot Camp Dad says:
    at 4:52 pm

    I remember thinking it was pretty funny when my son was “just learning” and drank out of the wrong side of the cup and dumped it all over himself. I even looked forward to it, but I wasn’t tipping up the bottom to spill it on him either. If this kid knew his dad was throwing it and was trying to catch it, it’s a different story. Situationally speaking, he’s a d-bag.

    Reply
  • Susie B says:
    at 1:01 am

    Videos a bit wrong yeah but I think the bit that makes him a douchey father is the fact he’s using 2 hands, meaning he clearly has a phone or something taped to his head!

    Reply
  • Jay says:
    at 1:09 am

    Any parent that propels the myth of Santa,Tooth Fairy etc. Has no real standing for this guy “lying” to his kid. Was it funny? At first. Does it make him a douche.. I can’t call it. Because I have no clue the relationship this guy has for his son.. Hell he’s actually spending time outside of videogames and home with him.

    Reply
  • kristen says:
    at 1:09 am

    Douche that’s trying to be funny and fails hard at it. His kid is not amused and it’s pretty damn sad to watch. You can tell from the child’s reaction that this is a common type of ‘prank’ that Massengill Man plays on his kid. Here’s this kids future: he will grow up parenting daddy. In fact, there is no question this guys a self centered prick…. look at the rest of his YT videos. Quality.

    Reply
  • Elisa says:
    at 3:28 am

    Oh please! All i can see is a dad playing with his son, as his son gets older he will do it back to dad and see the funny side, I grew up with this sort of fun and games with my family members and it tought us a sence of humor and to take fun and games and witty banter on the chin and laugh it off, or even better reply/ react with Witty banter and not strop like a big wuss! We had fun fights water balloon fights hose pipe fights food fights, snow ball fights with all out family and never stropped or cried we continued and laughed! We don’t know this guy from Adam and there’s far too many petty people this day and age to judge others actions negatively! Lighten up!

    Reply
  • Marc says:
    at 3:42 am

    I thought it was okay…until he lied and kept repeating the action. It wouldn’t have bees bad if he wasn’t so accomplished at the practice of try to hit his son in the face with the ball…it’s fine to a point until you go overboard. He crossed the douche line on this one…let me bounce this ball off your face and see if you like said no dad ever

    Reply
  • Chris says:
    at 4:46 am

    The fact that he records this and puts it on YouTub makes me worry what kind of pranks he pulls on his kid without a camera on. I think the kid should turn around and throw one of those balls super hard at his crotch. Playing with kids is amusing but that he’s lying and recording it and POSTING it on YouTube is sad. Just sad.

    Reply
  • Christine Taylor says:
    at 10:08 am

    Y’all Would Hate My House….In My House My Kids ASK me To Play “Push Me Down.” The Point Is Trying To Get The Three Older Kids All On The Floor At Once. Then They Developed “Shoe Me Down.” They Asked Me To Throw And Hit Them With Shoes!!! They Find The Whole Hitting With Balls, Pillows, Etc., Funny But Also Know They Are Not Allowed To Do This To Each Other Which Is Why They Ask Me 🙂

    Reply
  • Samantha says:
    at 12:04 pm

    My oldest and I used to play like this. He had these squishy baseballs and LOVED it when I would throw them at him. He would fall down laughing when they bounced off his head. It was great fun for all. That being said, if this little boy found it to be as amusing as my son did, then I wouldn’t see a problem with it. But this little boy clearly wasn’t enjoying being hit in the head. And the Dad lying and acting like he didn’t do it on purpose was setting a very bad example for this child.

    Reply

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