The teenage parents even tried to defend their actions by saying that they were simply trying to be 'disciplining' the baby. Warning: Distressing content follows.
A series of disturbing online posts have been outraging social media users on Snapchat. It all began with a horrific baby torture video of a helpless child crying for help as his own parents shove his head into a plastic bag and waterboard him.
Shortly after posting the horrific clip to the user-generated app, the baby’s young dad shared another video, attempting to explain his actions.
“We’re not child abusing them, we’re just teaching them discipline,” the dad can be heard saying. “If I want to slap my child I’ll slap him as much as I want, if he needs some discipline I’ll continue to slap him.”
In another post, the caption read: “I can’t believe he’s [still] alive.”
Both parents obscured their faces using emoji.
Screenshots: Snaphcat
Child in baby torture video is now ‘safe and well’
According to news.com.au, police in Victoria, Australia have questioned the parents: a teen boy, aged 13 and the teen girl, aged 14.
Leading Senior Constable Lee Thompson of Victoria Police told news.com.au that “Concerns were raised for the safety of a toddler as the result of a video and photos posted.”
“The toddler has been located safe and well,” he assured the public.
As of this writing, no charges have been lodged against the abusive parents.
Screenshots: Snapchat
Baby torture video shed light on teen parenting and child abuse
A previous study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology examined whether teen mums who abuse their kids were also abused as children. They found that those maltreated as children would also continue this cycle of abuse.
What’s more, they linked being abused as a child to:
- future mental health problems
- alcoholism
- drug abuse
- criminal behaviour
- poor health
- poor academic performance
- low economic attainment
- early pregnancy
It has to be said though that being a teen parent doesn’t always mean you can’t be a good parent. What young parents need is proper education and support so they can give their kids the best possible care. At the end of the day, it is their choice how they treat their precious little ones.
Source: news.com.au, Ministry of Social and Family Development, ChildWelfare.gov
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Republished with permission from: theAsianParent Singapore