Parents who ‘pranked’ their kids on YouTube lose custody of two children

A Maryland couple who drew outrage for the YouTube videos of their cruel "pranks" on their kids have lost custody of two of the children to their biological mother.

Emergency custody was granted to the children's mother after the most recent video posted last month by Mike and Heather Martin, who are father and stepmother to 9-year-old Cody and 12-year-old Emma.

Three of Heather's children also live with them. In the since-pulled video on Mike's YouTube channel, DaddyOFive, Mike and Heather pour ink on the carpet, and then call Cody over and scream and curse at him, accusing him of spilling the ink, causing the boy frantically deny it and burst into tears.

After the video drew attention and went viral, a petition was started calling on Child Protective Services to investigate.

The Martins at first defended their pranks as harmless, saying the kids enjoyed appearing in them.

But the Martins have since apologized, with Heather saying in a video, "This has been the absolute worst week of our life and we realize we have made some terrible parenting decisions." (New York Post)

(app users can see video here)

From the YouTube video description:

What started out as family fun and entertainment took on a life of its own. Before we knew it, we were caught-up in our families popularity which led to some poor decisions. Upon reflection, we realize there were mistakes made that caused our family some pain; we offer our most humble and sincere apology to those we negatively impacted and offended, particularly our wonderful children. Our children are safe. Off camera and out of character, they are normal, happy kids who play sports and love being with their family and friends. Thank you for your understanding as we work through this difficult time.