Kiwi mum shares fury after stranger filmed her son's tantrum

It’s the moment many parents dread when they’re out with their children – will they behave or will there be an unexpected meltdown.

Dealing with a crying child in public is difficult as it is, so when a stranger decides to whip out their camera to film the little one’s meltdown, you can bet most people would not be happy about it.

That’s the exact sentiment a New Zealand-based mother had recently.

A woman videoed her three-year-old son’s tantrum while he was out with his grandmother in an Auckland suburb.

When the grandmother confronted the stranger to delete the video, her reasoning behind filming the meltdown was apparently so she could showcase the incident to her own daughter.

“The woman tried to justify it by saying that she wanted to share the video with her daughter because her granddaughter has meltdowns, but nothing like this,” the mum – who asked to remain anonymous – told Essential Kids.

“I was extremely upset and angry to think that this woman thought it acceptable to film [her son] when he was so distressed, for the purposes of sharing it with her family – so they could all feel better about themselves because – look at this kid!”

After doing a bit of digging, the mother found out who the stranger was and confronted her.

The woman confirmed she had deleted the video, but only because it was bad quality as she had been too far away when filming.

In light of the situation, the Kiwi mum is now calling for tighter regulations on filming and photographing children.

“This is not her child and she has no right to record him, let alone share it further,” she told the publication.

In New Zealand it is legal for individuals to film others under their current Privacy Act, according to Essential Kids.

The situation is similar in New South Wales.

Currently there are no laws preventing individuals taking video footage or photos of others in a public space or even on your own private property.

“It’s an interesting situation in Australia, we don’t have any personal privacy rights,” Dr. Kylie Pappalardo – a law lecturer from Queensland University of Technology’s School of Law – told the ABC earlier this year.

“We have data privacy rights, there’s a privacy act that governs what companies can collect about say your financial information or health information.

“But there’s no right to say ‘This is my privacy, do not take a photo of me’.”

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