Glow stick explosion
Jack had apparently heard that microwaving a glow stick would cause it to shine brighter. Fair enough… I understand the need to experiment and prove (or disprove) these theories for yourself when you're young and adventurous. His father had requested that he not do it, because he has a functioning brain and realized it wouldn't be a good idea. However, Jack was not deterred and zapped the stick for around 30 seconds before taking it out.
It certainly seemed to pulsate and glow… Cool, right? Well, Jack, who is clearly a teenager, decides to shake it, and it proceeds to burst fiery, hot, toxic fluid all over his face, eyeballs and shirt. He shrieks for his dad, who flips his lid upon discovering his son covered in melty goo.
It's hard to judge this father for his words and actions, but plenty of people do. Commenters fuss that he's more concerned about his kid's "beautiful shirt" than his vision or that he shouldn't be upset or yelling at his obviously injured child. Still others chastise him for leaving his child alone to microwave the glow stick in the first place (seriously).
I admit it is really hard to rein in your pissed-offness when your child does something he was not supposed to do and gets injured by it. It's something I've had to work on personally, because I feel it really doesn't help the situation at all in the heat of the moment. For example, my 4-year-old jumps on her bed, and I tell her not to, and later she jumps on it and bangs her foot. I've had to retrain myself to focus on the injury first and the disobeying later.
However. This dad probably had it up to here with his "ding-a-ling" teenage son, and while he is super upset with him, he does immediately try to help him by reading the warnings on the package to see what to do. He's cussing, he's obviously mad at his kid, but he does work to help him right away (and in case you didn't know — which this dad may have not — if you get something in the eyes, you should probably wash it out).
Yes, he could have handled it better — I imagine Jack was punished enough when he sprayed hot, glowing chemicals into his eyes — but the dad did what he had to do. And funnily enough, Jack's brother has updated the YouTube page to say that not only did Jack survive with no permanent injury, but the "beautiful shirt" did as well.
Parents go on autopilot when their kids get hurt. I've always been really calm when disaster strikes, which has always helped to dissipate anxiety and terror. Not everyone is like that. But to say this dad was abusive or negligent? Please.
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