‘My son wet his pants and a stranger called me selfish for not hitting him’

“They told me they would have whooped my son’s a** and called me stupid and a bad mother,” the mum reveals in a viral video.

Pilar Grace

3 min read

September 10, 2023 - 3:05PM

Parenting

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When Kelsie’s three-year-old does something wrong, the young mum doesn’t immediately jump to punishing him.

She practices a gentle parenting approach, which is about working with your kids to make choices based on willingness, rather than external pressures.

When she and her son were out, Kelsie encountered major push-back for her parenting style.

The stranger not only criticised her, but called her names.

“I was mum-shamed today for gentle parenting,” Kelsie explained in a TikTok.

“My son wet his pants, and then smooshed some food into a carpet.”

A stranger saw the whole thing and shared their unsolicited advice with Kelsie.

“Someone told me they would have whooped my son’s a**, but that’s just not my style. They told me I was a bad, selfish mum for not punishing him.”

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Mum shamed for gentle parenting

Kelsie pointed out that her son is only three.

“When he had the accident, I told him, ‘Hey it’s ok, accidents happen, but next time can you tell mummy when you have to pee?’”

The food mashed into the carpet was a separate issue, but one Kelsie dealt with admirably.

“He smooshed that food in the carpet after I specifically told him not to,” she said.

“I made him go over, pick the food up and put it in the trash. Yes, he started crying, I told him to sit down and once he’s done crying we can talk.

“About a minute later he stopped crying, he came over and sat on my lap and we talked about why we don’t mash food into the carpet, and why we listen to mum.

“I taught him the importance of being respectful of someone else’s property, and he agreed with me and said he wouldn’t do it again.”

Kelsie’s critic called her “stupid” and added that her son would never learn without punishment.

Kelsie stood her ground against the stranger. Photo: TikTok

But the mum had the last laugh.

“Well guess what?” she said, describing a later incident. “My son threw a chip on the ground and went over there to smoosh it, stopped and picked it up and threw it in the trash can.

“We don’t have to beat our children to teach them lessons. Children deserve respect. They don’t know what’s good or bad. It’s our duty to teach them.

“Just like your parents said, treat people how you’d want them to treat you. I’m not about to treat my three-year-old like he’s dirt on the bottom of my shoe.”

Kelsie says she and her son have a good vibe and get along well. Photo: TikTok

TikTok responds to gentle parenting story

Some followers were shocked at the stranger’s comment.

“I don’t think that’s gentle parenting… that’s just plain ol’ parenting,” one person said. “Like, really, hit your three-year-old for having an accident?”

“Even professionals will tell you not to punish a child who has accidents,” said another. “Not only will it make it worse, but it’s a sign, medically or of something else.”

Others said they also practice gentle parenting.

“It’s actually disgusting the amount of heat I get for doing gentle parenting,” one person said.

“I’m pregnant right now and this is exactly how I want to deal with my child,” said another.

One mum shared a hilarious anecdote.

“I’m 22 and pregnant and had an accident in my pants the other day,” she wrote. “It happens to the best of us, LOL.”