In a country where violent crime is on the rise, it’s only natural for a parent to want to keep their child out of trouble.
Whether it’s encouraging them to take up a sport, an instrument or new videogame, how far would you go to stop your little one from mixing with the wrong crowd?
There’s one Oldham dad who believes he’s found the perfect way to keep his son off the streets – by encouraging him to egg other people’s houses.
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Jason Knight recently found viral fame on TikTok by posting videos of his six-year-old son Jack pelting eggs at homes around the Limetree area.
The 29-year-old insists the pranks are just harmless fun and the pair always return to the properties the following day to clean up the mess they made.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, dad-of-four Jason said: “In my eyes, I see it as a little thing for my son where he cleans up afterwards and it teaches him a lesson.
“There was someone running around with a machete where I live a few weeks ago saying he was going to slice everyone up.
“My son is egging houses, not running around with a machete. In my eyes, I’m doing the right thing.”
Jason’s first video, which involved his youngest throwing eggs at his sister’s home, racked up more than 300,000 views.
The dad, who owns a vehicle recovery business, quickly found himself being bombarded with comments from people asking their family and friends to be targeted.
Operating in the evening, Jason and Jack will then visit the addresses and throw eggs at the properties. In many videos Jason can be heard offering words of encouragement to his son, telling him to get closer to the window and take his time throwing the egg before running back to the car.
“We’re not doing it maliciously,” Jason continued. “We have people give us addresses whether it be their family or friends.
“We always go back the next day and clean up. It’s not like [Jack] is running off and leaving it for other people to clean.
“We show them the address that’s been given to us and we let the people know who has [thrown the eggs].
“Everyone started liking the videos and commenting; some people take it as a joke and some people see it like I’m in the wrong.
“Even if Jack gets [TikTok] famous, it’s a good thing for him, [TikTok famous] people move to different areas with the money they get.”
Jason says another reason he records the videos is to keep the old-school prank alive. “I don’t want the tradition to die,” he added.
“I’d like to keep what I did as a kid in my family. I know in my head he’s out doing normal little kid stuff that everyone used to do when they were kids. I did it as a kid and I’ve turned out to be a nice person.
“The estate I live on, it’s crazy. The police are there all the time and people are racing up and down in cars. It’s not a nice place to live.
“It steers [Jack] away from all the other kids swearing and bullying other kids. I let him out the other day on the park and he came back crying his eyes out saying the other kids were bullying him.
“I’m trying to do it for him so he’s got a better life so he can move away from around here.”
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