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"Guess who got triggered this morning and then had a power trip on an underdeveloped brain?"
By Nia Tipton
Last updated on Feb 20, 2024
While many parents have certain boundaries their children should never cross, a father's reaction to hearing the way his son referred to his mother has many shaming him for giving him a punishment that even a parenting expert has weighed in too call too severe.
Johanns said he's 'grounding' his son for a month after he called his mom 'bruh.'
"Guess who just got grounded for a month for calling his mom 'bruh,'" Johanns said in a TikTok video.
In the short clip, Johanns is sitting in his car, presumably picking his son up from school. As he speaks, his son, Elliott enters the car while hearing his father detailing his punishment to the camera. As Johanns' son closes the door after climbing into the passenger seat, he tells his father, "This ain't fair, bruh."
Johanns just raises his eyebrows at his son's outburst as the video concludes.
In the comment section of Johanns' video, users criticized him for the unfair punishment.
"You sound like such a cool, good, and emotionally stable parent," one user wrote, while another added, "That's a little excessive, don't you think?"
Johanns' video received criticism from a parenting expert, who condemned the father's choice of action.
Johanns' decision to ground his son for a month even elicited a reaction from a parenting expert, who stitched the father's original TikTok video to voice his opinion.
"Guess who got triggered this morning and then had a power trip on an underdeveloped brain," Jon, a parenting educator, started his video.
Jon continued, explaining that Johanns' reaction to his son calling his mother "bruh," can best be described as "a disproportional and unreasonable punishment."
"That kid said 'bruh' reflexively," Jon said, adding that "punishing people for reflexive actions tells me that you don't know anything about the brain."
He pointed out that parents "punishing kids" in an extreme manner "just because you can" show that they are trying to "overcompensate" for not having any power when they were a child.
"So, how about you go to therapy, bruh," Jon concluded.
Jon's response video received praise from viewers, who agreed that Johanns could've used a different tactic if he wanted to dissuade his son from calling his mother "bruh."
"Right, a simple, 'your mom ain't "bruh"' is enough," one user wrote.
Another user added, "it might be worth talking with the kid about being respectful but definitely doesn’t deserve full-on grounding or really punishment at all."
Johanns video is likely satire.
Johanns' video received over three million views, leading to over 30,000 comments criticizing the punishment, which may be why the dad's TikTok profile bio now notes that his videos are meant to be "humorous."
"Stop calling CPS!" he also requests in his bio, suggesting that his videos have prompted people to call child protective services.
In a follow-up video, Johanns explained that the original video "was a joke," as his son stands in the background blinking the S.O.S. signal.
In an age where separating reality from fiction is becoming increasingly more difficult, such pranks may continue getting content creators in trouble!
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.