A Cuban woman, known on TikTok as @raizahernandez1608, has sparked an intense debate across social media platforms after posting a video last Sunday, harshly criticizing the parenting methods of today's parents, particularly those in their thirties and younger generations.
The catalyst for her outburst was a scene she witnessed in a store: a child picked up a metal object and began striking everything in sight, while the parents seemed oblivious to the chaos their child was causing.
"I don’t understand how you can be in a store, your kid picks up a piece of metal from the store and starts hitting everything in their path, and you just keep shopping like nothing’s happening, with your husband on the phone," she remarked in her one minute and 25-second clip.
From this observation, the Cuban woman launched into a broader critique of what she perceives as a lack of boundaries and discipline in modern parenting, encapsulated in her controversial statement: "What they are raising are parasites, manure is what they are raising."
She argues that this style of upbringing has direct consequences on children's adult lives. "In the future, when they grow up and have no friends because no one wants to be friends with someone like that, then it's all 'I just want to die because I have no friends.' Who the hell would want to be your friend if at four or five years old you have a destructive power?" she questioned.
Distancing herself from the trend she criticizes, she clarified that she has a 27-year-old daughter whom she believes was raised well: "Mine is already twenty-seven, I raised her, and I raised her well."
The video amassed over 123,000 views, nearly 6,300 likes, and around 500 comments, highlighting the resonance her message found within the Spanish-speaking community on the platform.
The clip is part of a broader cultural debate on permissive parenting versus parenting with boundaries, a topic that has been widely discussed within the Hispanic TikTok ecosystem for years. Critics of the so-called "gentle parenting" argue that, if misapplied, it results in children growing up without facing the consequences of their actions or developing social skills.
This debate has gained particular traction among Cuban creators in exile, where there is a tension between the discipline-oriented values of traditional upbringing and the more permissive approaches adopted in countries like the United States. Cuban Gabriel Alcántara criticized in December 2025 that many parents outside the island replace love with gifts and technology, garnering over 21,000 likes with his message: "It's not the children's fault, it's the parents' fault."
Another Cuban, Jorge Rodríguez, living in Tampa, posted a viral video in July 2025 teaching his son the value of earning money through hard work, surpassing 23,000 interactions with his message that "money doesn't grow on trees."
"We are raising stupid people, crap, and trash who will be good for nothing," concluded @raizahernandez1608 in her video, a statement that, despite its harshness, captures the frustration shared by thousands of users who perceive a generation of parents confusing emotional respect with a total absence of rules.
Raising Children in Modern Times: A Cuban Perspective
What sparked the debate on parenting styles by @raizahernandez1608?
The debate was ignited by a video posted by @raizahernandez1608 on TikTok, criticizing modern parenting styles after witnessing a child causing chaos in a store while the parents were indifferent.
What is the main criticism against current parenting methods?
The main criticism is that modern parenting lacks boundaries and discipline, potentially leading to children who grow up without understanding consequences or developing necessary social skills.