Child filmed chugging milk at Oktoberfest divides Germany

Footage of a toddler downing a bottle of milk to the cheers of onlookers at the world’s largest beer festival is sparking both likes and angry comments on social media.

More than 380,000 people liked the video on Instagram as of Sunday, but the majority of comments are highly critical, pointing to the stress and noise levels the child appears to be enduring in a rowdy, crowded beer tent at Germany’s annual Oktoberfest booze-up.

Detractors say the viral video – posted with the comment “a chill weekend with papa” – violates the child’s right to privacy, while the surrounding adults set a bad example of exposing children to a culture of binge drinking.

The video, apparently filmed during the day at Oktoberfest and posted on Thursday, shows the child standing on a table in a crowded beer tent and downing a bottle of milk.

The child is encouraged by a man in traditional Bavarian clothes holding the bottle to the child’s mouth. People on the benches around the child laugh, cheer and applaud, with some filming and photographing the scene.

“That poor child … it’s absolutely irresponsible to allow strangers to film it, to expose it to the noise, the drunk people and the smell of alcohol,” one commenter wrote.

“Preparing a toddler for future binge drinking. Great parents, great role models for handling alcohol,” wrote another. Several commenters called for child protective services to intervene.

“The father should be ashamed — and so should those who posted the video,” reads another comment. Many users emphasized the importance of protecting children’s personal rights, arguing that no recordings of children — especially by strangers — should be shared online.

Other users, however, found the video amusing, particularly because the toddler technically violated an Oktoberfest rule: Visitors who stand on tables and are cheered on to chug their beer in one go are usually escorted out by security staff.