Ant Middleton has revealed he let his son cling to an electric fence to teach him a lesson.
The former UK Special Forces soldier, 44, shares with his wife Emilie daughters Shyla, 17, and Priseis, nine, and sons Gabriel, 15, and Bligh, eight. He also has a son, Oakley, 22, from a previous relationship.
Ant, known for his brutal training methods, has admitted that he uses his military mentality when it comes to fatherhood.
His son Gabriel was just 13 when he grabbed onto an electric fence during a family day out in a national park, causing shock.
ant said the sun: ‘I could see an electric fence in front. My son ran ahead and jumped hurdles, even though I had told him not to. He came to what he thought was a chain link fence. He could have said, “Stop!” but I thought, “You know what? I’m going to let him learn.”
Ant Middleton has revealed that he let his son hang on to an electric fence to teach him a lesson
The 44-year-old former UK Special Forces soldier, known for his brutal training methods, admitted he uses his military mentality when it comes to fatherhood.
“And he grabbed onto this fence and got hit hard.”
Ant admitted he found the incident funny and “started laughing”, while Gabriel was “extremely upset”.
He added: “I think, to be fair, it was pretty powerful.” But believe me, he didn’t do it again. Children have to be left to discover things for themselves and I thought I’d let him learn the hard way.’
In 2019, Ant explained that the reason he tells his son to be “a man” and not cry in front of his peers is because he is teaching him to “control his emotions.”
Ant appeared on This Morning to defend himself against the backlash he received following comments he made on Giovanna Fletcher’s Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast.
Ant wrote in his new book, Military Mindset: “I could see an electric fence ahead. My son ran ahead and jumped hurdles, even though I had told him not to.
Ant Middleton (center left) talked about raising his son to be resilient and teaching him not to cry. He is well known for questioning SAS candidates Who Dares Wins on the Channel 4 show.
At first he had said: “I tell him: ‘Son, come on, now you’re a little man.’ Have a stiffer upper lip.”
But Ant explained on the daytime show that it was more about teaching ten-year-old Gabriel emotional resilience, not about not wanting him to cry.
Loose Women presenter Saira Khan criticized Ant for “failing” as a father by telling his son not to show his emotions.
Speaking on This Morning, he explained that his son was a keen Thai boxer, but that he was trying to teach the boy to harness his aggression and use it instead of getting emotional.
‘When his mother takes him (to Thai boxing) and his mother spoils him and he cries in the ring.
‘When I take him, he does better and comes out full of energy and wants to get back in the ring. That’s because I teach him to control his emotions.
‘People will take advantage of your weaknesses. I simply teach him to control them and not cry, to contain that emotion to get the job done.’
Saira Khan passionately disagreed with what he had said and lashed out at not allowing men to show their emotions.
And he added: “It helped me a lot, I try to instill that in my children.” If he came home and was crying, I would say, ‘What’s wrong with you, son? Hold your emotions, cry on me and I’ll tell you what to do.’
‘It is important that we control our emotions. There’s no right way to be a parent as long as you feel like you’re doing the best.’
The Soccer Aid star had said on the podcast: “If he (Gabriel) fell and hurt his knee and looked at me, I would avoid eye contact.” The moment he sees my eyes, he will start crying. However, if it were my daughter, I would go straight there to comfort her.
‘It’s just that… manly thing. It’s not being sexist. I’m just telling it like it is.
Ant isn’t the only star to have admitted to harsh parenting styles, as last year Gemma Atkinson came under fire from a parenting expert after posting that she pinched her one-year-old toddler son when he did it to her one-year-old son. four years. sister.
The actress, partner of Strictly dancer Gorka Márquez, made the revelation in an Instagram post highlighting the differences in behavior between her two children.
Gemma, 39, presented a show called The Toddler Club on CBeebies and filmed a reality series on W Channel alongside Gorka, 34, in which her young children Mia, five, and Thiago, one year, they appear regularly.
Ant isn’t the only star to have admitted to harsh parenting styles, as last year Gemma Atkinson came under fire from a parenting expert after posting that she pinched her one-year-old toddler son when he did it to her one-year-old son. four years. sister
The post read: ‘I really noticed the differences in how Mia was compared to Thiago.
‘It’s fun to watch. The toys just get banged or slid on the floor and the tantrums are new since Mia didn’t have them.
‘He pretends to cry and falls to the ground.
“I stay and watch until he realizes it’s getting him nowhere and they’re slowly getting shorter.”
Regarding pinching, he adds: “He pinches when he gets frustrated.
‘I did it to him again on Wednesday because he went hard on Mia. He hasn’t done it again since.
Child behavior experts say adults should not pinch their children to prevent them from doing the same to their peers.
Jo Studholme, editor of Parenting Expert, told MailOnline: ‘Pinching a child as a form of punishment is not only ineffective but can also be harmful.
‘Teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflict.
“Instead, try using positive discipline techniques, such as time-outs, loss of privileges, or calmly talking to the child about their behavior.”
In 2018, Kirstie Allsopp revealed that she smashed her children’s iPads after they didn’t comply with her rules about screen time.
The Location, Location, Location presenter made the confession on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show during a discussion about the extent to which parents are responsible for their children’s behaviour.
The Channel 4 presenter, mother of sons Oscar Hercules and Bay Atlas with husband Ben Andersen, admitted it was the first time she had spoken out about her drastic disciplinary tactic.
Explaining that they had not followed his rules about when and how they could use the tablets, he confessed to smashing them against a table leg while his children watched as punishment.
However, not everyone agreed with his approach to discipline, with many calling the move a “waste” on Twitter, arguing that they could have been donated to less well-off families and that their children would not learn to “value their things.” . .
