While some parents are actually encouraging kids to get into Fortnite so they have something they can enjoy with them, one particular mother isn’t too fond of the game. In fact, her methods to getting her kids to stop playing the Epic Games hit were a bit on the extreme side.
Videos by ComicBook.com
A British TV reporter by the name of Kirstie Allsopp admitted on a recent Channel 5 broadcast that, back in June, she smashed her kids’ iPads because they wouldn’t stop playing Fortnite. She basically destroyed them against a table following their breaking of rules of playing “violent” games for too long.
You can see the broadcast for yourself below, where Allsopp explains her reasoning.
Kirstie Allsopp reveals she smashed her children’s tablets in front of them because they kept breaking her rules for using them. @JeremyVineOn5 | @KirstieMAllsopp | @TheJeremyVine | @stormhuntley | #JeremyVine pic.twitter.com/CaKZ52uGFj
— Channel 5 (@channel5_tv) September 10, 2018
“This is the first time I said this publicly,” she explained during the broadcast. “In June, I smashed my kids’ iPads, not in a violent way. I actually…banged them on the table like…that’s it. There’s this game…there’s a game called Fortnite and I decided that…we made all sorts of rules and all sorts of time, so we said you can’t play them this…all of those rules got broken. And in the end, I said, ‘All right, that’s it.’ I had to physically…it was remarkably easy.”
That said, however, not everyone was fond of how she resolved the problem. Several responses on Twitter note that she took things too far.
Try to imagine being so rich you can afford to vandalise £600 – £1200 worth of stuff. All because you can’t get your kids to do as they’re told. No, us neither. #KirstieAllsopp//t.co/QQMArdB9Nj
— Skint London Mag (@SkintLondon) September 10, 2018
Meanwhile, there’s children in the world who go without such things (and would appreciate them) as parents can’t afford them. Would donating them to a charity to benefit such people not have been a more grown up and mature course of action @KirstieMAllsopp ?
— Ian Henderson (@ianno87) September 10, 2018
Would have been more effective to take them & make them physically hand them over to another child at school, on the street or at the local hospital. All you’ve done is show them that smashing things up in a tantrum is how to deal with anger. Really disappointed in this story.
— Louise B 🐝❤️ (@loobylouband) September 10, 2018
I’m all for parents revoking their kids right to use their iPads or giving them away entirely if they refuse to abide by rules, but smashing them up..? Violently breaking your child’s belongings in front of their eyes doesn’t sit right with me, sorry Kirstie Allsopp.
— Alice ⚡ (@alicechristina) September 10, 2018
I obviously can’t speak for all children but as a sensitive kid myself I would’ve found this really upsetting. Plus the utter waste of it… Some families are desperate to give their child an iPad or smart phone and simply can’t afford it. She could so easily have donated them.
— Alice ⚡ (@alicechristina) September 10, 2018
BBC News – Kirstie Allsopp’s parenting tips: ‘I smashed my kids’ iPads’ – //t.co/t4Diohuua2 – Kids were playing more Fortnite & PUBG than they were allowed, so she smashed them. Two ipads. pic.twitter.com/LgfRObhsrY
— David S. H. (@DaveSimonH) September 10, 2018
Allsopp does have a few supporters, but not enough to really weigh the argument in her favor. Perhaps she should have hired someone to help her get good at Fortnite so she could have played along with them…?
Fortnite is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, mobile devices and PC.
