Woman slams 'tripod parents' as she details moment mother 'pretended' to have fun with daughter at beach just for content

Sky News AU

5 days ago

A growing number of parents are filming their children purely for social media content, leading critics to call out the rise of 'tripod parenting' where capturing the perfect post comes before the child's experience.
The term tripod parent has been adopted online to describe mums and dads who bring tripods to playgrounds, parks and beaches, directing their kids through planned scenes for Instagram or TikTok.
Observers say it turns family time into staged performances with real moments paused for the perfect shot.
It's part of a larger trend known as sharenting, where children are heavily featured on family social media pages, often without understanding or consent.
Critics argue this can damage a child's sense of self and privacy, with some calling it modern-day exploitation.
Experts are urging caution, while some parents defend the practice as harmless memory keeping or part of their job as influencers.
In a TikTok video, a woman named Ashley reveals how parents chasing viral fame stop playtime to film their children for social media and recounts a story she had at the beach watching an example of a tripod parent doing everything for fame.
She revealed that while at the beach, she witnessed a young girl building a sandcastle with her mother, only for the mum to knock it down after being dissatisfied with the footage she had captured.
Ashley showed visible frustration and disbelief as she described what she witnessed.
"She knocks over the sandcastle and the kid says 'mum', but the kid also isn't frustrated. It looks like it happened before.
"Then the whole time she's on the phone, probably editing the video while the kid is calling mum let's play, let's play..."
Ashley also noted the mother was only engaged when the camera was on and as soon as the tripod was packed away, the child was left to play alone while the mother scrolled on her phone and began editing the video recording for her social media platform.
She then concluded, " You basically took your daughter to the beach for views!"
"I can't stop thinking about it, now I'm mad again"
"It's one thing to have to pretend your life but it's another thing to have to pretend life and use your children for views."
The video has since gone viral and fuelled a wider debate around parents using their children for online fame.
Several countries including the US have started introducing laws to address this issue while child protection advocates warn of lasting psychological impacts.
Commentators say the need for validation through likes, followers and paid content has replaced real connection, moments like building a sandcastle or learning to ride a bike are now being produced for audience and money.
The shift from naturalness to staged perfection has some asking what kind of childhood is being created for the camera.