Netizens in China are up in arms against the mother of China child influencer Niu Niu (妞妞) after the former was caught on video kicking her daughter.

In the video, Niu Niu, her mother and her uncle are seen walking along a wall. The mother can be seen filming the girl on her phone. Niu Niu stops and places her bag on the ground.

Immediately, her mother delivered a swift kick to the girl's buttocks, visibly propelling the girl forward. Niu Niu's uncle then bends down to pick up bag up while the mother squats down to adjust the girl's skirt.

Strangely, Niu Niu did not turn around. Instead, she stood still after the kick.

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[video width="226" height="400" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2019/04/child.mp4"][/video]

According to AsiaOne, the child influencer had been working the whole day and was too tired to perform.

The video was shot in Hangzhou, Zhejiang on Monday, April 8.

After the video went viral, other clips of Niu Niu being beaten surfaced on the internet:

In an interview, Niu Niu's mother admitted that she lost her temper:

"That day we were filming in Hangzhou. Niu Niu was running around. After a long day of filming, I flared up and lost my temper. It was because of me.  It was my fault. It was wrong of me to do that to Niu Niu. But I did it just to frighten her. I regretted it immediately."

However, Niu Niu's mother added that the kick was not as severe as netizens claimed:

"Truthfully, I don't normally kick Niu Niu. At most, I smacked her on her buttocks. But I had never kicked her like that. And in the video, when I kicked Niu Niu, I did not use all of my strength. But people online are saying that Niu Niu must be constantly abused hence she did not react to the kick. She must be numb to physical abuse. Honestly, I did not use all of my strength to kick her. She did not feel pain and she did not cry."

Niu Niu's mother claimed that she started receiving a lot of verbal abuse from netizens after the video went viral, so much so that she cannot face the public:

"At first I thought of committing suicide. I could not take the verbal abuse from so many people online. I have two children. I brought up our son and daughter by myself. Nobody helped me. Why would I beat or scold my child for no good reason? Besides, my daughter Niu Niu is so cute; many of my friends love her. I really cannot bear being on the receiving end of such abuse. My husband said celebrities get slammed everyday by so many people. He advised me not to reply the comments. I'm not good with words; if I say something wrong, it might trigger some backlash."

Netizens, however, are not satisfied with the explanation by Niu Niu's mother:

"We're not angry that you beat Niu Niu. Sometimes children do things that warrant a beating. We're angry that you beat her because she did not meet your demands as a money-making tool."

"You know she's not virtuous just by the sound of her voice."

"The kick sent the child flying - what you mean you did not exert all your strength? You say that you were tired after a day of filming. Wouldn't a 3-year-old child be tired too? You use a child to earn money, yet treat her in such a manner. What kind of a person are you?"

"Niu Niu's mother, you want to commit suicide just because you were scolded online. Have you ever thought that Niu Niu might be pushed to the extreme because of this strenuous job? Harsh words hurt you but don't you think your physical abuse hurts your child more?"

According to AsiaOne, more than 110 children's clothing shops on Taobao have banded together to call for better regulation of the child modelling industry.

Top images via Weibo.