‘I find it worrying that it bothers you’ furious dad hits back after being trolled for kissing son, five, on the lips
A DAD has brutally slammed vile trolls who’ve criticised him for kissing his 5-year-old son on lips.
Each parent has a different way of showing affection to their kids, and one form of letting children know they’re loved and protected is by cuddling and kissing them.
But whether that’s on the cheeks or forehead, not everybody will see it as the innocent act of parenting it is intended to be – and one person who knows a little about this is dad Tom Leeds.
The father, who regularly shares adorable moments with his son on social media, was trolled for giving the five-year-old a kiss on the lips.
Tom was responding to a comment after a fan had complimented his eyes, wondering if he was using a filter on his TikTok clips.
Replying to the kind comment, the dad admitted it wasn’t even his blue eyes that were ”the nicest” the household, before asking his son, five, to join him so viewers could see their gorgeous eyes.
As his son showed off his eyes, Tom chuckled saying it wasn’t ”fair”, as he then asked his child to give him a ”kiss” and the adorable father-son duo pecked on the lips.
However, the sweet moment didn’t go down well with some social media users, with one woman commenting: “Just gorgeous both but don’t kiss him on the lips.”
The controversial comment, liked almost 60 times, received close to a staggering 800 responses, as TikTok users raced to defend Tom and his choice.
After the video took the internet by storm with almost 500k views, Tom, too, hit back at the trolls.
”I will continue to kiss my son on the lips. Thank you.”
“I’m 54 and still kiss both my parents on the lips when I’m saying goodbye after seeing them.
”Also always say I love you!” someone added.
“Really don’t get why some people find this a problem it’s absolutely adorable”, another chimed in.
“Kiss your son on the lips as much as you want. Showing love is never wrong! He’s only young once”, a social media users told Tom
Someone else penned: “Don’t see anything wrong, here just pure love.”
The 4 types of parenting styles
According to Mayo Clinic, there are four main parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and neglectful. However, it’s natural to use different styles in different situations.
- Authoritative parenting style: This is often considered the ideal style for its combination of warmth and flexibility while still making it clear that the parents are in charge. With authorative parenting, parents listen to their child’s opinions, but the parent remains the ultimate decision maker.
- Permissive parenting style: These style of parents pride themselves on being their child’s best friend. They’re warm and nurturing with open communication, and are actively involved in their children’s emotional well-being. Permissive parents let kids make their own choices, but also bail them out if it doesn’t go well.
- Authoritarian parenting style: It’s all about strict rules, high standards and punishment to regulate the child’s behavior. Such parents have high expectations and are not flexible on them. The children might not even know a rule is in place until they’re punished for breaking it.
- Neglectful parenting style: Although the child’s basic needed will be fulfilled, neglectful parents pay little attention to the child. These parents tend to offer minimal nurturing and have few expectations or limitations for their child. In such cases, children tend to grow up to be resilient and self-sufficient out of necessity.
Tom also addressed the comment that had been made in a follow-up clip, adding he was horrified this was the thing she’d picked up on.
“I find it worrying that it bothers you”, Tom said.
“I will kiss my son, my five-year-old child, on the lips, as long as I deem necessary and as long as he lets me”, he fumed.
Children of neglectful parents usually grow up to be resilient and self-sufficient out of necessity.