Mom demonstrates C-section surgery to her 4-year-old son using Play-Doh, and the video sparked a fierce debate online.
As a parent, I can tell you that you never know if you are good enough in showing your kids all the wonders of this world. Do I rush things? Am I being too slow? What if I don’t challenge them enough? What is the best way to encourage their development?
However, things are much easier when you teach them things you are an expert in! When one doctor decided to show her kid how to deliver a baby using Play-Doh for his 4th birthday, she sparked a fierce debate online!
The tag to the video that went viral and currently has garnered over 4.4M views, reads:
“Cesarean #playdoughsurgery pregnant woman for my kid’s 4th birthday.”
Dr.Jessica So, a board-certified dermatologist, popular as @thebreakfasteuron on the internet, recorded a how-to clip to demonstrate a C-section surgery, and since she posted it, she is under fire.
She regularly creates Play-Doh-based YouTube tutorials for her surgery-loving son. In this video, she supervises the boy who slices into the realistic Play-Doh belly with a knife.
The California mom warns him that “it’s going to be wet,” and then he siphons out the “amniotic fluid.” The surgery is performed with lifelike precision using plastic instruments, and she describes the procedure using medical terminology.
In the end, the boy successfully extracts “the baby” — a Spiderman toy — and a balloon placenta, and an applause effect is heard in the background.
So said that the video was partially meant to be a tribute to the medical staff that helped deliver her son.
She said:
“Our little guy just had a birthday (the big 4!), and we reminisced about the eventful, unexpected day he arrived and the flurry of amazing people involved with getting him here safely.”
Yet, many Tweeter users disliked the entire idea.
One critic wrote:
“There is no way to repair this disembodied abdomen, which is part of a human woman. Too much emphasis on the baby. I don’t find it cute, it’s actually a bit frightening.”
Another added:
“I consider myself a very progressive parent & embrace age-appropriate learning for all topics, but this is just plain unnecessary & quite frankly a little disturbing.”
One social-media medical expert expressed his concern that the boy might even end up slicing his friends’ tummies in the future!
Yet, many others found the video educational, praise her creativity, and believe that it will surely encourage his curiosity.
One fan of it commented:
“Holy COW this is amazing!! What a smart kid, too!!”
Another user added:
“I learnt more ab birthing a child from this video than I ever did in catholic school.”
One even joked that he finally understood Spiderman’s “real” origin story!
Yet, So is well known for her videos on her YouTube channel, where she has almost 5,000 subscribers. She often shares videos of clay-based tutorials on everything, from kidney transplants to cleft palate repair.
Since their first surgical case in June, So’s so has become so interested, that he claims he wants to become a surgeon.
Dr. So said:
“I feel that children are able to understand much more than we give them credit for. And you really don’t find out until you try.
He’s always had so many questions about how the body works and it’s such a fun way for us to connect. Every day he asks if we can do a Play-Doh surgery.”
What about you? Did you find the video impressive or weird?