Another Polarizing Trend on TikTok Has Parents Telling Their Kids They Need To Help Them Fight

A TikTok trend has parents putting their kids to the test yet again. A quick search on the app of the hashtag #fightprank will pull up hundreds of videos of parents seeing if their kids are truly down to ride for them. The majority of the videos play out the same way:

• Parent approaches child and tells them there was an argument between two adults.
• Parent says the adult has a child (or children) around the same age as the child being filmed.
• Parent tells their child they may have to jump in to see how they respond and then post the video.

Given that all children are different, the responses to the parents' requests vary. Many children were ready to fight, no questions asked. Most of the younger children were confused but reluctantly agreed, and some flat out told their parents no. A popular one that's been shared on multiple outlets features a little boy straight up telling his parent he had other plans for the day. He just wanted to go to Target.

Of course like most things involving children, the Internet is divided in reactions to the trend. Conscious parenting creator Lisa of Lisa a la mode, took to Facebook to ask her community their thoughts.

"Let me tell, I did giggle at a few of those videos. I did not attempt it with my children because I know it would terrify my oldest who is not and will never be a fighter. The little one? Lmfao…he's always ready. I don't think any of it was meant to be malicious, but I don't Iike to be the butt of anyone's joke, so I passed on this trend. How do you feel about it?"

Some users on both the Facebook post and TikTok felt like the parents truly meant no harm.

• RELATED: How Can I Help My Child Defend Himself Against Bullies Without Fighting Back?

"My oldest (4) swears she knows karate; she would have been TOO hype to try this," one commenter wrote.

"Bro every single kid I've seen on here doing this trend ready for anything," another user laughed.

"Bro this trend is priceless," another wrote.

And while many people (myself included) have laughed at the trend, other adults are concerned.

"This prank of parents telling their kids they need them to fight is not funny. It's showing me a lot about how people parent. It's also sad to see some of these kids get really anxious about being pressured into an act of violence. This is not entertainment." Hallyfromtheblk wrote on Twitter.

"I don't do stuff like that with mine, it seems kinda mean to play with their emotions," a commenter wrote on Facebook.

And while everything truly isn't for everybody I feel like as parents, our job ultimately is to think about how our actions will affect our children.

"I'm not a fan of playing with a child's fight or flight response. It's not good for brain or emotional development," a user wrote on Facebook.

More importantly, we truly are setting the worst types of example being so quick to jump on certain trends just for views. How can we be mad at our kids for stealing toilet seat covers at school and recording it for social media, or slapping their teachers (remember that?) when we're spending our summer vacation showing them how "fun" it is to get in on the trends? It's a layered thought process for sure, and in the age of digital consumption and being pressured to crank out content quickly I think people are more prone to post first and think later.

Perhaps we should all put our phones down a little bit more. The sun is out and the weather is beautiful—we have playgrounds to complain about going to! Pass the snacks.