"You have worms in your belly": the controversial video of some parents to get their children to stop eating sweets
Some families resort to fake ultrasounds and other tricks to scare children, a practice that has caused strong controversy due to the emotional impact it can generate
A video recorded in Brazil, showing parents making their son believe he has worms in his stomach from eating too many sweets, has generated enormous controversy. In the images, the parents show him a fake ultrasound in which a supposed worm appears to be moving inside his stomach. The boy, who still has a sweet in his mouth, ends up crying and promising to stop eating them.
In the video, which has gone viral on social media, some see it as an effective - although exaggerated - way to get children to moderate their consumption of sweets. Others, however, consider that making a child believe they are sick to provoke fear crosses the boundaries of a joke, especially because the deception directly affects their perception of their own body and their health.
The debate, however, goes beyond sweets. The practice is part of a broader resource that some parents use to get their children to obey: inventing consequences, exaggerating risks, or scaring them into changing their behavior. In this case, the child's reaction - crying in front of a fake medical test - has led many users to question to what extent it is acceptable to use fear as an educational tool.
