A mother is facing a child abuse investigation after she filmed herself forcing her one-year-old son to stand barefoot in snow as part of a disturbing online trend.
The 33-year-old woman, from Bucharest, Romania, uploaded the clip to her now-deleted TikTok page, which quickly went viral, prompting outrage and calls for authorities to take action.
In the video, the mother places her visibly distressed child’s feet into a plastic tub filled with snow, then forces him to sit down while rubbing the freezing snow on his body.
The child can be heard screaming in discomfort as the mother laughs, while a man, believed to be the father, is also heard in the background, saying, ‘It’s cold, love, it’s cold. Look what we’re doing to the boy,’ followed by more laughter from both parents.
A caption accompanied the video footage, which read: ‘I’m making it Spartan.’
The cruel act appears to be part of a trend launched by supporters of Romanian far-right politician Călin Georgescu, who has promoted practices such as walking barefoot in snow or swimming in icy waters to ‘strengthen’ the body against illnesses.
Although the mother deleted her TikTok profile after the video went viral, she defended her actions, claiming she is a ‘good’ mother, as reported by the Sun.
However, the footage has drawn widespread condemnation online, with many social media users expressing horror over the child’s distress.
A 33-year-old woman, from Bucharest, Romania, is facing a child abuse investigation after she filmed herself forcing her one-year-old son to stand barefoot in snow amid an online trend
On Reddit, one horrified viewer posted a snapshot of the ‘cruel’ video in the popular sub, r/insaneparents, where one person wrote: ‘I hope this has been reported to Child Protective Services. Or to the police.’
Another said: ‘I cannot ever imagine intentionally hurting my son. He’s almost 5 months. I could never force him to stand outside barefoot in the snow.’
A third wrote: ‘The amount of stupid is off the charts, where did the parents go wrong? This is child abuse pure and simple. Go to jail!’
A fourth commented: ‘I’m from Romania and a lot of people have spoken out against that person and (sadly) she’s not the only one who did something like this. She’s truly a crazy person and should have her child taken away.’
In response to the viral video, Romania’s Child Protection Authority (CPA) announced on Saturday it has ‘taken action’ and ‘will request the support of the competent institutions to identify the people involved.’
As reported by Romanian news channel, Antena 3, the CPA expressed concern over the growing number of disturbing images circulating online, which show children exposed to extreme cold and snow ‘scantily dressed or even completely naked.’
In a Facebook post, they added: ‘Subsequently, the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection will contact the parents to clearly communicate to them the obligations they have regarding the upbringing and care of their children.’
The CPA also highlighted that exposing children to dangerous conditions, such as extreme temperatures, represents a ‘serious violation of their rights.’
In the video, the mother places her visibly distressed child’s feet into a plastic tub filled with snow, then forces him to sit down while rubbing the freezing snow on his body
The General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection is working alongside other authorities to identify the parents.
It comes after disgraced YouTube mommy blogger Ruby Franke, who was previously convicted of brutally abusing two of her own children, was caught screaming at her kids in disturbing home videos that her family are now sharing.
Franke, 43, who was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for child abuse, was seen filming herself screaming and berating her children during her YouTube days.
‘Sit her down right here,’ she could be heard yelling at her children in one of the videos featured in a teaser trailer for the upcoming Hulu documentary ‘Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke’.
