A video clip showing a four-year-old Chinese boy forced by his father to run around and do push-ups in the snow, wearing only his underpants, has sparked outrage after was posted on internet.
Filmed in New York on Chinese New Year’s Eve, the footage shows a man identified only as “eagle daddy” stripping his son Ho Yide to his underwear and forcing him to endure temperatures of -13 degrees Celsius (8 F).
As he stands shivering in the cold, the boy is seen pleading with his father: “Please give me a hug!”
Ho Yide looks around as he runs after his father filming him and nearly slips as he clenches his small fists bracing himself against the cold.
After running around for five minutes, Ho Yide is then encouraged to do a push-up on the snowy ground.
The little boy also asks for his mother, whose voice can later be heard later laughing and encouraging him to ensure the bitterly cold experience.
In comments posted by “eagle daddy” online it states his son was born several months early and doctors said that he might suffer developmental difficulties.
To counter this, “eagle daddy” came up with a strict education plan for his son to help him grow up healthy.
The video has been viewed by tens of thousands of people on various video-sharing websites and has caused outrage.
One user wrote: “I think your brain froze when you were four. Or were you even made to do run in snow almost naked when you were four?”
While another said: “This is so mean. It’s just so irresponsible! That boy poor looks like he wants a passerby to rescue him.”
The father’s personal assistant, surnamed Xin, told AFP Ho Yide was on holiday with his family in New York during the Lunar New Year holiday last month.
“The child agreed and before the run, he did half an hour of slow running to warm up,” she said by phone.
“This child has received all sorts of forms of training since he was small. When he was one, he started swimming in water that was 21 degrees Celsius.”
She said that the boy was born prematurely with several health problems including water in the brain that prompted doctors to say he may have cerebral palsy.
Miss Xin said Ho Yide’s father was not concerned about the negative backlash the video had received.
“He says he doesn’t care what others say… that the fact that the child lived showed that he has tenacious vitality,” she said.
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