Annual prank brings tears for many children
Print Edition
Jimmy Kimmel brought tears to the eyes of many children recently. But they weren’t tears of joy.
ABC’s late-night host conducted what’s becoming an annual prank during the past week, encouraging parents to tell their children they had eaten all of their Halloween candy, film the response and upload the video so he could show it on his TV show and on YouTube. Many of the fooled children were quite upset.
“Pranking your own children is not harmless fun, but is cruel and potentially damaging,” said Mark Barnett, a professor and graduate program coordinator at Kansas State University’s department of psychological sciences. A child’s trust in his parents shouldn’t be trifled with, he said.
“A parent who would violate this trust for a big laugh or 15 minutes of fame is, in my opinion, acting irresponsibly and not looking out for the best interests of the child,” Barnett said.
A YouTube posting of Kimmel’s on-air highlights was viewed more than 7 million times through late Wednesday, with more than 45,000 giving it a “thumbs up” and 2,191 offering a “thumbs down.”
Since starting the feature in 2011, Kimmel’s show said the post-Halloween videos have been viewed more than 106 million times online.
Kimmel said this year he received an “avalanche” of great responses and it took much of last weekend to work through them all.
This year’s videos include two blond boys who break out in uncontrolled tears when their father tells them, “it’s all gone.” An empty candy wrapper is on the table in front of them.
One girl, still in costume, tells her mother that “you ruined my whole day.”
Children throw stomping tantrums, one so vigorous the toddler’s pants fall down. One angry girl throws an envelope at her parents. Another bawling child is hardly mollified by news that it’s a prank: “Well, that’s not very kind,” the boy said.
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