Cruel Parents Force 4-Year-Old Boy To Run Naked Through Frozen Streets

If you happened to spot a distressed 4-year-old running through the frozen streets of New York in his underwear, you weren’t imagining things. It actually happened. And here’s the sickening part: this poor boy’s parents actually forced him to strip down in the freezing cold they even captured the whole thing on film so that he’d develop a “masculine temperament” (those were his father’s words).

The family lives in China but they were vacationing in New York during the Lunar New Year last month. The father, He Liesheng, sent the video to a few friends and next thing he knew,  it was posted online and viewed by tens of thousands of people. Not surprisingly, it’s caused a major uproar in China. In fact, Lieshing as already been nicknamed “Eagle Dad” in reference to “Tiger Mom” Amy Chua, who became a household name after her controversial book touting the benefits of tough parenting.

The video, posted below, is really disturbing to watch. I actually can’t imagine any normal parent out there finding it funny or  remotely entertaining. This is child abuse, if you ask me. I know that’s a strong term to use but I truly believe these parents were being neglectful idiots. I mean, it’s just so barbaric. At one point, the shivering boy cries and pleads with his father to take him in his arms. Meanwhile, both parents tell him to lie down in the snow, which he does eventually.

Liesheng’s personal assistant Xin Lijuan told Agence France-Presse, ”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.”

”I also give him cold ice cream on cold winter days to train his stomach to get used to the cold,” Liesheng himself told AFP. ”He rarely has a cold or fever.”

Lieshing isn’t affected by all the online criticism, according to Lijuan. “He says he doesn’t care what others say,” she explains. “The fact that the child lived showed that he has tenacious vitality.’’

Actually, it looks more to me like this is a child who obeys his parents but who would clearly rather not be running naked through the snow. Take a look at the video and you’ll see what I mean.

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