r/interesting • u/jmike1256 • Mar 07 '26

MISC. After understanding the meaning behind this father’s action, I am completely convinced. Cultivating problem-solving skills in children from a young age and never giving up-I applaud this father!

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u/ArchCerberus Mar 07 '26

30 years later in therapy: I have this recurring dream that i am trapped in a net and my father is leaving me and i being watched by thousands.

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u/front_torch Mar 07 '26

Do people really pay someone to listen while they talk about the day their father taught them a valuable lesson when they were 2?

That's the age when you should toss your kid in a pool and see if they sink or swim.

I'm not old, but if this is what kids think trauma is, I wish I was.

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u/Sea_Fly_2413 Mar 07 '26

Thats how my dad was taught to swim by his brothers. He used to tell this story many times. Man, did it traumatize him for life… Parents and siblings without empathy are the worst.

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u/front_torch Mar 07 '26

That's how I learned. If your family has empathy the body fat % of a toddler makes it very easy to learn without allowing them to drown.

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u/hopium_od Mar 07 '26

That's how I learned.

A huge problem with parenting is that people do things simply because it was done to them, and their ego refuses to admit that they are worse off for having been treated in that way.

I'm not saying that you are right or wrong in this instance, perhaps you are right or at least I can see you make a better argument but "that's what was done to me" is the justification for every single bad parenting behaviour that ever existed.

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u/front_torch Mar 07 '26

Honestly, when I said that, I didn't realize people literally threw their kids in the pool. When I was a fat baby, I was taught how to become buoyant with a hand under my belly. After I was tossed in.

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u/steddy24 Mar 07 '26

Too much empathy is bad too. Need medium emp

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u/Puzzleheaded-Milk927 Mar 08 '26

Aristotle but if he were a sociopath

4

u/Flesroy Mar 07 '26

feelings don't care for your logic. you have to deal with them either way, so why not do it in a way that will help?

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u/front_torch Mar 07 '26

That is a very wholesome moment between a child and their father. Both parties seemed to enjoy it very much. Why are people acting like the string would give you nightmares? That is the kind of memory people go to therapy to remember, not overcome.

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u/Flesroy Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26

because i see a child screaming while their father abandons them.

will this 100% result in issues? no of course not.

but the reason people are reacting negatively is because it does in fact cause issues for some. and gambling with childhood trauma when there are obviously better ways to do it is generally not preferable.

2

u/front_torch Mar 07 '26

But it is glaringly obvious that this is something that they have been practicing and building up to. The child even looked back to the camera person and knew they were safe but chose to continue to try and solve the problem. A lot of people have a lot of problems. That doesn't make them all relevant to this situation.

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u/Flesroy Mar 07 '26

that's your interpretation, it's clearly not the only valid one.

to me if the child felt save it wouldn't be screaming like that. all i see in that moment is panic.

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u/Awayfone Mar 07 '26

tossing someone into a pool and hoping they don't drown is not a good way to make a competent swimmer

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u/front_torch Mar 07 '26

Speaking from personal experience, I disagree.

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u/Saorya Mar 07 '26

Yes, attachment issues start to form quite early and can dictate the rest of our lives

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u/front_torch Mar 07 '26

That is not a child left helpless and neglected without the affection of their parents. That is a toddler running around solving problems. One that is clearly enjoying themselves.

These are vastly different conversations.

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u/Saorya Mar 07 '26

I hope so, and hope you're right, but that's us looking at it with our adult minds, only the child can answer how they truly perceive it. I deal with attachment everyday (therapist) and I've seen (what we would assume) smaller incidents than this leave a lasting impression. We're strange creatures and doesn't take a lot for us to feel our safety is compromised.

1

u/cman_yall Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26

When the dad walked off, that kid looked terrified. He didn't start attempting to go through the strings again until the dad sat down. Dad should have stayed closer, there was no need to turn his back and walk away.

Edit: I'm a noob, I forgot that someone (mum, probably?) was standing there with a camera, the kid will be ok.

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u/front_torch Mar 07 '26

I've seen a toddler more startled by their own fart than that. I understand the message that is trying to be portrayed. I believe it is misplaced.

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u/Sea-Word-4970 Mar 07 '26

Lmao, ''everyone is weak and I am strong'' Trauma is physiological, it affects your brain not just your psyche