Facebook

Fort Lauderdale Dad's Anti-Shaming Video Goes Viral

A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, dad turned tables on parents publicly shaming their children by posting a parody of the "kid shaming" videos. 

When Wayman Gresham sits his son Isaiah down and pulls out the clippers, it's easy to assume he's about to give him the "old man haircut."

"I'm here to teach my son a lesson," Gresham says. "I'm pretty sure you've seen many videos with parents cutting their kids hair. And today, I think I'm going to follow suit."

Instead, Gresham flips the script and delivers a surprising and heartfelt message that's anti-shaming and pro-loving.

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

It's time for me to discipline my kid the tough way! Why? I don't play that! Posted by Wayman Gresham on Wednesday, May 27, 2015

As Gresham turns on the clippers to give Isaiah what he calls the "bald head messed up haircut challenge" he stops, instructs young Isaiah to sit up, and gives him a loving embrace saying "the devil is a lie."

As the young man giggles and walks out of view, Gresham says, "There is no way in the world I would ever embarrass my son like that. It doesn't take all of that. Good parenting starts before he even gets to the point of being out of control."

Gresham stresses that parenting starts with getting up in the middle of the night and praying for your child, telling your child you love them, and "showing them the way by example."

He noted his lack of profanity, and the fact that he never put his son down.

Gresham's anti-shaming message appears to be resonating with many people. Since it was posted to Facebook on May 27th, the video has been liked more than 275 thousand times, has more than 500 thousand shares and has racked up 19 million views and counting.

Dr. Barbara Greenberg, an adolescent and family psychologist, told Today.com that public humiliation and shame are not effective in teaching children worthwhile and meaningful lessons.

"Kudos to the father who did the parody. Love and warmth are much better teaching tools," added Greenberg.

Contact Us