Police hunt ‘cool’ dad after the internet agrees parenting license should be a thing

Parenthood is a blessing. Watching a child grow from a toddler who can’t express themselves in words to someone who can crack a funny joke can feel like a miracle. It’s something most parents cherish — but not all. A father on Facebook decided to twist that blessing into a sick “joke” by forcing drugs on his toddler, prompting the internet to call for his immediate arrest.

In 2015, a Romanian parent and his toddler became the center of controversy after Daniel Tecu uploaded a disturbing video on Facebook. In the since-deleted clip, the man is seen placing a cigarette in his son’s mouth, taking it out, and then giving the child beer straight from the bottle. He later hands the cigarette back for the toddler to puff. The boy appears to be clearly under five years old.

Sadly, this man isn’t the last example of a father exposing his child to drugs. Earlier this year, a man in Florida was arrested after sending photos of his toddlers holding beer, weed, and liquor. Some parents have even faced charges for extreme negligence, such as abandoning their children entirely — even moving houses without telling them while they were still in school.

There’s genuine cause for concern because when parents put their children at risk, the results can be tragic. Recently, a teenager-turned-father in Wisconsin decided he wasn’t ready for parenthood. Though he initially considered putting his baby up for adoption, he ultimately chose to shoot his infant — a decision that now has him facing life in prison.

So, it’s no surprise that when people online saw this reprehensible father’s actions, they flooded the comments, tagging local authorities and demanding intervention before it was too late.

According to The Independent, many were too outraged to leave it at that. One commenter wrote, “This man has to lose his parental rights. Childcare officials should do something.” Another added, “There should be an exam for everyone who wants to have a child. If you fail, you can’t have them.”

The worst part was the father’s ignorance. As he handed his toddler drugs, he acted as though he were the “cool” one and everyone else was overreacting. In fact, someone off-camera even said, “That’s what being a real man is all about.”

It remains unclear whether the man was ever identified. Reports suggested that while the men in the video were Romanian, the incident may have occurred in Spain — leaving Romanian police with little power to act.

If that’s true, the man may have walked free, serving as a grim reminder that sometimes the only people who can protect a child are the ones around them. While the internet could see that what he did was horrifying, those physically present only encouraged him.

However, the outrage sparked by the video has thrown a spanner in the debate over the guardrails that social media platforms are often urged to maintain. Because regardless of the tech titans’ desire to turn these platforms into modern-day paradises for free speech, shouldn’t they also be obligated to assist authorities when someone blatantly commits a crime?