A family known for documenting their kid-friendly travels and adventures has gone viral over a controversial video that shows the dad throwing his 7-year-old child from a cliff. The dad, Garrett Gee, seemed to know that the parenting decision would be a controversial one and clarified that it was not meant to be “parental advice” or something for all families to try. Even still, some critics slammed the dad’s parenting. At the same time, many others applauded it.
The dad admitted that ‘most people won’t love’ his way of parenting.
When Garrett shared the video in which he threw his child off a cliff, he captioned it with a major caveat: “Most people won’t love how we teach our kids how to cliff jump.” The video, which was shared by both Garrett’s personal account and his family’s @thebucketlistfamily account on Instagram, shows Garett on a cliff with his son Callahan. In the video, Callahan appears to hesitate before trying to jump into the water. Eventually, after talking to his 7-year-old, the dad throws him in and he screams.
In the caption, Garrett clarified that the video was not meant to serve as advice. “Also, this is NOT something we’ve done with all of our kids,” he wrote. “Each kid is quite different so the way we parent, discipline, and teach HOW TO CLIFF JUMP is quite different 🙂 For sure 1st priority is safety. 2nd is learning that YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS. 3rd is HAVE FUN :)”
He decided to throw his son because it felt like the safer option. “Really the biggest danger would be if he hesitated, didn’t jump far out, and fell down the cliff side,” the dad explained. “So, to be extra safe, because he wanted to jump but was not feeling confident.. I threw him. Eventually a baby eagle needs to leave the nest..or be tossed out of the nest 😉 and learn HE CAN FLY!”
But some people weren’t convinced.
Even after the dad shared this explanation, some skeptics went as far as to describe his parenting as “absolutely negligent.” Another critic “will continue to pray for the safety of these children.”
Someone else suggested that the parents were making questionable decisions to attract more attention on social media. “A parent shouldn’t throw their child into the water,” the person wrote. “The other parent shouldn’t film it and post it on social media…You’re losing the boundary between being parents who are supposed to protect their children and parents who want to be celebrities.”
Yet another person chimed in that the stunt “looks like a classic case of ensuring your child will need trauma therapy as an adult.” The person added, “My son is fearless and I never put his safety at risk…he chose it himself.”
Many others, however, saw nothing wrong with the video. “You guys are raising STRONG SMART CONFIDENT KIDS!! I applaud your parenting style most should watch and learn,” one of their followers wrote. Many others said they learned the exact same way when they were kids.
In a follow-up post, the dad shared what they were doing instead of ‘cliff throwing.’
On August 10, Garrett posted about Callahan’s latest adventure: tandem scuba diving. “Instead of cliff throwing, I took my youngest son, 7-year-old Callahan, tandem scuba diving,” the dad says in the clip. “He knows once I drop into the ocean, wait for the sign, and then come in after me.” This adventure ended up being pretty controversial as well, with many critics suggesting Callahan was too young for it.
Although some people loved watching Callahan’s bravery in action, others told the dad that it didn’t seem safe. “As a dive professional, this is fkd,” one critic wrote. “Children that age should not be diving. Using an alter as a primary air source 🤯 No one should inflate to go up. Ahh fins? How are you going to help your child if you can’t move effectively.”
A second critic wrote, “Most experts recommend waiting until around 8 years old before diving. ❤️ I totally get wanting to share fun moments, but sometimes it’s better not to push kids too much just for content.”
The dad addressed the criticism.
In response to a People article about the family’s controversial adventures, the dad took to Instagram to share his thoughts. In a now-deleted post to his Stories, he wrote, “WHY is there an article criticizing a dad who is simply TRYING MY BEST to give my kids positive experiences?? Where are the headlines that say ‘Dad neglects kids while they play video games on iPads all day.’ ??! Okay. Just had to say that. Feel better already. The truth is I know who I am and why I do what I do.”
