Parenting is hard at every age, but there are particular challenges involved in parenting a toddler— a tiny being who can walk and talk but hasn’t quite yet grasped the concept of social norms.
On his Facebook profile, Terel Rico Rels Crawford (also known as by Rico Relz) describes himself as an entrepreneur, mentor, and motivational speaker.
But he’s also the father of an adorable, little girl named Ari.
On August 6th, 2017, after Ari started misbehaving during a trip to Walmart, Rico went live on Facebook to chronicle the event.
The video, which has since gone viral, shows Rico and Ari sitting on the hood of their car. During the first few seconds, Ari yells while Rico simply stares at the camera silently, refusing to acknowledge her fit.
Although some viewers questioned whether the tiny tot was just tired, in a comment Rico explains, “We know when she’s tired, she’ll sleep in the cart with a pillow or her blankie. This was her ‘I’m spoiled rotten, and I get what I want or Ima scream’ fit.”
“You done?” Rico asks his daughter after a few seconds.
Ari nods.
“I’m not taking you into Walmart until you stop with your mess,” Rico explains with a tone that is gentle but firm.
“We’re not going back into the store until you stop with your mess. If you go back in the store and you do it again, we’re coming back out here.”
“We don’t have to walk around the store with your mom. That’s a privilege.”
But Rico doesn’t just address Ari during the video— he also addresses his audience with a message:
“See, when you spoil the Hell out of your kids, this is what happens,” he says, pointing the camera towards Ari.
“I don’t care if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth— don’t put one in your child’s mouth, cause this is what happens. And then, when you have to be stern, and they don’t like it cause they’re spoiled, this is what they act like.”
“This is how you get your kids to act right. You sit ’em on the car, or you sit ’em somewhere that has nothing. No beating, no yelling, no screaming.”
“I ain’t about to argue with no 3-year-old […] I’m Daddy. I’m grown.”
Rico says that some people see him as being too strict, but how else are your children supposed to learn if you don’t teach them?
“You have to suck it up,” he says, once again addressing Ari. “Act like you have 2 parents at home that teach you right from wrong, you hear me?”
After about 3 minutes, Ari has calmed down and is ready to go back inside the store. She apologizes to Dad— and is quickly back to her smiley self.
Rico and Ari’s video has been viewed over 22 MILLION times, garnering over 190k comments.
Overall, people seem to support Rico’s parenting style, praising him for his calm demeanor and hands-on approach.
What do you think of Rico’s method?
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