YouTube prankster parents who ‘made kids hit each other’ sentenced for child neglect [VIDEO]

12 Sep, 2017 by Sierra Marlee

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Heather and Mike Martin are in a lot of trouble after they posted a disturbing video to their YouTube channel, “Daddyofive.” They were accused of putting their children in uncomfortable and mildly abusive situations to get more views on their videos and it came to a head when they posted a video encouraging their young son to hit his sister.

Well, they’ve finally received their punishment and it’s about what you would expect for a situation like this.

The couple posted videos of them “pranking” their children, but as their YouTube channel grew in popularity and size, they began to make more and more extreme videos to increase their viewership.

They issued an apology, which sounds more sincere than not, to me.

“What started out as family fun and entertainment took on a life of its own,” they said. “Before we knew it, we were caught-up in our family’s popularity which led to some poor decisions. Upon reflection, we realise there were mistakes made that caused our family some pain.”

They went on to note that their children are safe and that they are in no danger of being abused.

“We offer our most humble and sincere apology to those we negatively impacted and offended, particularly our wonderful children. Our children are safe,” they promised. “Off camera and out of character, they are normal, happy kids who play sports and love being with their family and friends.”

Both parents took pleas to two charges of child neglect, which allow them to maintain their innocence while at the same time acknowledging that there is enough evidence to prove their guilt.

They have been sentenced to five years of probation.

I’m sorry, it doesn’t matter how popular you get as a social media sensation, you don’t encourage your children to strike each other. That is not a skill you want them to carry into the real world and young, impressionable creatures will do exactly that.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m on about, below is the video that sparked outrage and got the parents in hot water.

These parents did indeed make horrible decisions in the hopes of acquiring more views, that is obvious. But it’s also obvious that they love their children. I think they will learn a lot from this whole experience and it will make them better people.

At least I hope so. Their children deserve awesome parents who are going to love them through life’s hardships. Your mother and father shouldn’t be one of those hardships.