There’s bad parenting, and then there’s BAD parenting.

The former probably won’t do too much harm, and can range from not teaching your kid the fundamentals of manners or basic human decency, to flat out ignoring them. At worst, they grow up to become an insufferable git.

The latter can be perfectly illustrated by a video doing the rounds on social media at the moment.

The video captures footage of a man who was arrested after he tried to rob a store at Cape Town’s N1 City Mall. When shoppers at the mall tried to stop him from leaving, he used his kid as a shield.

Here’s News24 with the deets:

The man is seen using the child as a buffer while one man pulls his arm, later trying to block his way.

He is heard shouting: “What’s wrong with you? Leave me, leave me!”

Bystanders at the mall can be seen reacting in shock with others running toward the men to see what is happening. A confused shopper is heard asking: “What is going on?”

The video has blown up on social media, where many have expressed concern that the child is a victim of kidnapping, but News24 refer to the man as the father of the child in question.

The man has been arrested and charged with theft, and will appear in court on Monday. One look at the video and you can see why people are concerned:

I’m just glad he’s away from that kid.

[source:news24]