Mom Ignores Son’s Elevator Tantrum, and Parents Are Sharing Their Own ‘Petty’ Tactics

A TikTok video posted on August 7 shows a mother deliberately refusing to give in to her child's tantrum, which led other parents to post the unusual methods they have used to discipline their own kids in the comments section. Kristen Bright, the woman who shared the video, which had already attracted about 1.4 million likes and 2,500 comments, shared a snippet from her morning in which the mother was going into an elevator with her son. The text overlay on the video states, "Ruining my kids' whole day because they ruined my morning."

The caption refers to her method as "petty parenting."

In the clip from Louisville, the woman's son asks if he can press the elevator button as he steps into it. But instead of answering him, she presses the button for the first floor herself. The child then gets upset while she stays quiet and lets the tantrum continue. That's where the video ends.

The comments included a series of stories by parents about their own interpretations of what they saw as "petty parenting." In some cases, privileges were taken away after a child had behaved badly, while in others, the children were made to experience a consequence related to their behavior. One such commenter said that her 3-year-old child opened a lollipop at the checkout counter in a shop without being allowed to do so. After that, the child was made to place the candy on the counter, and after they had paid for it, the cashier was asked to throw it away.

Another parent explained a situation in which a child had complained that he wasn't getting enough toys. After the child chose their Easter basket, which contained toys and candy, the parent then took the items to a food bank and asked the child to donate them.

Another commenter, less serious, said that she had been hyping up her daughter all week and saying that she would be taking her to McDonald's. The daughter, however, had lied recently. So, on the day of, she just drove past a McDonald's and told her kid, "Yeah, I lied." That was enough, the commenter said, to teach her about what words can mean.

Some people also defended the approach on the grounds that it teaches children about the consequences of their actions. One commentator said that "petty parenting" is actually an example of gentle parenting and would allow children to learn from the consequences when given in a controlled situation.

But of course, not everyone agreed. Several commenters questioned whether some of the tactics went too far, especially if parents said they had thrown away their children's favorite things or intentionally upset the children. One of them noted that these children are still learning and felt that a number of the stories in the comments section gave the impression that parents were punishing typical childhood behavior.

To note, Bright's video does not clarify whether the elevator incident was part of an overall disciplinary approach or whether she afterward let the child know why she acted that way.