Stop blaming Kylie for your child's poor decision-making skills

I may be vilified for my lack of compassion in this instance, but I’m afraid I can’t keep schtum on this one.

17-year-old reality TV star, Kylie Jenner, has been forced to address controversy which has stemmed from an online craze which paid tribute to the star's unique look.

The ‘Kylie Jenner Challenge’, which has apparently taken social media by storm, has seen an inordinate number of teens attempt to emulate the teen’s look with the use of household items.

As you can imagine, this didn't quite go to plan and instead of sporting a look worthy of a red carpet, they’re sporting a look worthy of an A&E department.

Swollen lips, bruised chins and bloody mouths are just some of quirks featured in the ‘After’ photo of the Kylie challenge, but what you can’t see beyond is the look of despair on these childrens’ faces as they’re forced to come to terms with their decision.

A corner of the parenting community have since called on Kylie to come forward and issue a statement on the controversy, and I must ask 'why?'.

What do they expect that will achieve? The damage is already done.

Kylie will, of course, lament their actions and urge them to stop and secretly, she’ll rue the day she became the scapegoat of a misguided generation of teens.

I don’t blame the parents for directing their anger at Kylie instead of focussing on their own role in this controversy because if I was them, I'd be feeling guilty too.

Look, I’ll be honest, I saw the photos of those kids’ mutilated faces and I thought ‘Where were their parents?”

Don’t get me wrong, I know you can’t watch your children 24/7, but that doesn’t mean you can’t, at some point, instill a little common sense in them to ensure that when your back is turned they don’t immediately go about injuring themselves.

Yes, you mightn’t have been there at the moment they decided to suction their faces almost beyond recognition, but you were there many times before that .

Surely at some point, those parents said something that suggested this kind of behaviour might be a tad inadvisable.

I suggest we stop looking at a teenage girl for comment and ask the parents what they have to say for themselves.