Skip to main content

Mother publicly shames daughter in Facebook video for lying about her age

Denver Mom Shames 13 Year Old Daughter Posing As 19 Year Old 'Freak' On Facebook
If there’s one subject everyone seems to have an opinion on, it’s parenting. In a bold move, Denver mother Val Starks made a public display of her techniques in a now viral Facebook video in which she berates her daughter for lying about her age on the social media platform. The video, which has drawn mixed reactions from its nearly 12 million viewers, runs for more than five minutes, and features Starks confronting her 13-year-old daughter about posting racy photos and claiming to be 19-years-old.

Citing the very real dangers presented by sexual predators and anonymous strangers (whose own profiles could be duplicitous), Starks admonished her daughter, forcing her to repeat her real age. “You’re 13,” she says. “So why does your Facebook page say that your 19? Are you 19?”

When her daughter begins to cry, Starks does not relent, saying, “Are you a freak? Do you know anything about being a freak? You need to speak up so people can hear you. Don’t cry now. You wasn’t crying when you was posting pictures on Facebook, was you? In a bra? Some little girl in some lace panties that you know you don’t own. You still wear panties that say Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. You still have a bed time.”

Some people have applauded the display, with one viewer writing, “You most likely saved her life. She will realise one day how blessed she is to have a Mom like you. You truly deserve a medal, it is better she be embarrassed than dead.” Another commented, “You go momma!! Makes me proud to see strong single mothers like this….raising their kids right….you best believe one day her daughter goin thank her for his….thank God mom found out before her daughter would if dared to meet a stranger in public and the situation could have been worse. Well done!! Your daughter will be a good mom one day thanks to you setting a great example.”

Others, however, were less convinced, with one user saying, “This is straight humiliation! Every person saying great job how would you feel if we embarrassed you in front of the whole world! And if she’s posting naked half naked pics… guess what monitor her and she’s most likely following example… monitor her friends if needed. But embarrassing a child and yourself in front of the world that just wrong.” Indeed, the comment section of Starks’ Facebook page seems evenly divided between those supporting her decision and those decrying her actions, saying she took things too far to teach her daughter a lesson.

As for Starks herself, she says she has been “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support, posting, “I am truly overwhelmed with gratitude, I thank each and every one of you. I have over 5,000 friends now. Facebook won’t let me accept any more.” Speaking with a local ABC News station, Starks said, “It was really hard for me to do, but I didn’t want to be another parent on Facebook putting out a video where I beat my child or anything like that. I wanted it to be something that showed from one mother to another mother, to the fathers out there struggling trying to raise a child or a teenage child, just to get them to be aware and to understand how serious it is and how important it is to be aware of what your child is doing at all times. Don’t ever say what you won’t do, or what your child won’t do, because you don’t know until it happens to you.”

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
How to create multiple profiles on a Facebook account
A series of social media app icons on a colorful smartphone screen.

Facebook (and, by extension, Meta) are particular in the way that they allow users to create accounts and interact with their platform. Being the opposite of the typical anonymous service, Facebook sticks to the rule of one account per one person. However, Facebook allows its users to create multiple profiles that are all linked to one main Facebook account.

In much the same way as Japanese philosophy tells us we have three faces — one to show the world, one to show family, and one to show no one but ourselves — these profiles allow us to put a different 'face' out to different aspects or hobbies. One profile can keep tabs on your friends, while another goes hardcore into networking and selling tech on Facebook Marketplace.

Read more
How to set your Facebook Feed to show most recent posts
A smartphone with the Facebook app icon on it all on a white marble background.

Facebook's Feed is designed to recommend content you'd most likely want to see, and it's based on your Facebook activity, your connections, and the level of engagement a given post receives.

But sometimes you just want to see the latest Facebook posts. If that's you, it's important to know that you're not just stuck with Facebook's Feed algorithm. Sorting your Facebook Feed to show the most recent posts is a simple process:

Read more
How to go live on TikTok (and can you with under 1,000 followers?)
Tik Tok

It only takes a few steps to go live on TikTok and broadcast yourself to the world:

Touch the + button at the bottom of the screen.
Press the Live option under the record button.
Come up with a title for your live stream. 
Click Go Live to begin.

Read more