Teen filmed being rude to supermarket workers. The next day his dad took him back — with one mission

What began as a disturbing video of two teenagers hurling abuse at supermarket staff ended with a father taking a very public stand. When a clip of Gosport teen Charlie Baldwin and another boy swearing, cursing, and even threatening to "cut" staff at an Asda branch went viral, Charlie's father Ben Baldwin refused to let it slide. The original footage, which spread across Facebook and Twitter, showed the boys shouting threats before cycling away, still shouting at staff and even mocking bystanders. The language shocked viewers and drew widespread anger. The original video, covered by The Independent, was later shared on Reddit.

But by the next day, Charlie was marched back into the same Asda, this time with his dad at his side. In a video shared to the local Facebook page Gosport Aware, Ben Baldwin demanded his son apologize face-to-face. Standing in front of the staff, Charlie kept his hands in his pockets and softly said, "Please sir, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I was just angry. There’s nothing else to say but I’m sorry."

His father didn’t mince words either and told his son, "I’m your dad and I’ve had to bring you down here because you disrespect everyone. And now you’re plastered all over Facebook. It’s disgusting, Charlie. We don’t bring you up like this, do we Charlie?" According to The Independent, he later added online, "For everyone who has seen a video of this boy threatening members of staff at Asda yesterday, as a dad, I have never been more disgusted and mortified with my son in my life. He has not been brought up to behave in this manner and I do not condone his behaviour at all."

The apology video was seen tens of thousands of times before it was removed, with many praising Baldwin’s tough stance. Experts say there’s reason to believe that kind of parenting can have a lasting impact. A 2023 longitudinal study found that adolescents raised under authoritative parenting demonstrate stronger emotional resilience and higher self-esteem over time. This balanced approach helps teens manage stress and navigate challenges more effectively, laying a foundation for healthy psychological development. The story soon spread to Reddit, where users compared it to lessons from their own childhoods.

u/mackzs said, "Once when I was little, my family and I were eating dinner at a restaurant, and I threw a piece of paper at my sister across the table, but it missed her and landed on some other table that a family was eating at. My dad forced me to go apologize to them and made me promise that I would not be a disturbance to them for the rest of the night. Simple lesso,n but I still remember it 15 years later." u/ChrisDen462 wrote, "This is just every kid who wants to be a bully, a big man around everyone except their parents, who you’d assume would whip their ar$es but instead just teach 'em a lesson. Good work lad." u/Kabulamongoni commented, "That's a lesson he'll never forget. Especially since it was posted for the world to see." u/ThelWhitelWolf added, "Bravo to the dad. Seriously, that's some grade-A parenting, and I bet that kid won't do that again! Embarrassment is a killer lol."