Raising kids can be hard, especially when you’re raising more than one at a time. It’s not out of the ordinary that parents look to TV, magazines, and books for some extra support and help.
However, not everyone has “good advice” on how to parent and raise kids.
Some methods are unique and… well… strange.
Recently, Channel 4 in the U.K. is facing backlash over one of their parenting shows.
The show is titled Train Your Baby Like a Dog . Seriously.
The show’s star, Jo-Rosie Haffenden, is a dog trainer and behaviorist who uses dog training methods on kids.
While she says puppies and kids need similar “training” methods, not everyone loves this idea.
A petition has surfaced online after parents were offended over the show.
The Change.org petition has been signed by 25,000 people so far.
Parents are saying that the program is “dehumanizing.”
They also said that the program promotes, “grooming children to comply with an adult’s demands.”
Haffenden uses “clicker training,” which many parents don’t like.
Basically, the trainer bribes children with objects they love to get them to comply to their demands and desires.
Parents are saying that treating children like dogs is horrible.
They believe it makes the children almost feel as though they are being treated as animals over human beings.
While there are ways to teach your children rules and discipline, maybe use different techniques.
Reward systems are good, but commands like a dog can be a bit much.
Channel 4, however, defended their decision to air the show.
A spokesperson for the network spoke to HuffPost .
They claim the show explores a “new approach” to childcare.
The station said the show is, “…grounded in positive, science-based motivational techniques that are used widely by parenting coaches and animal behavior experts. Throughout filming and broadcast, the welfare of all contributors in the program is of paramount importance and the process is supervised by qualified child psychologists.”
Whether it works or not, 25,000 parents are not in agreement.
I guess publicity is publicity, right? Only time will tell if this show gets renewed.
