'Bean Dad' under fire for telling daughter, 9: learn to use a can opener or go hungry

US musician and podcaster John Roderick has sparked fury after his tweets went viral. Photo / Getty Images

A father who tweeted about forcing his nine-year-old daughter to learn how to use a tin opener or go without food has sparked a social media outcry.

John Roderick, a Seattle-based musician and podcaster, shared a story on Saturday on Twitter, explaining that it began when his daughter asked him to make baked beans.

After she brought him a tin-opener and can of beans, he asked her how she thought a tin-opener worked, he wrote.

When she said she did not know, he said he realised "a teaching moment just dropped into my lap". "Apocalypse dad was overjoyed," he added.

Explaining that he wanted his daughter to learn a new skill, he said she tried, tearfully, on-and-off for six hours to figure it out, at one point telling him: "I hate you."

"She was next to me grunting and groaning trying to get the thing. I should say that spatial orientation, process visualisation and order of operation are not things she… intuits. I knew this would be a challenge," he said.

Eventually she did manage to open the tin and he cooked the beans for her.

Roderick, 52, who was given the nickname "Bean Dad", was soon on the receiving end of an onslaught from social media users criticising him for "poor parenting" and "neglect".

"I feel like it's super valuable to teach kids that they're not alone in the world and that there's no shame in asking other people for help and support," wrote journalist Jason Schreier.

A dramatic reading of the Bean Dad thread pic.twitter.com/L4hNGO0iPL

— Matt Awad (@MattJAwad) January 3, 2021

BrooklynDad_Defiant, who regularly tweets about parenting, said: "He should have just FED her, and THEN showed her how to use a damn can opener instead of leaving her hungry for six hours. That's abusive. She's 9 years old, and some of us don't learn very well when we're hungry, regardless of age. Jeez."

A smaller number defended Roderick, saying children should be challenged to encourage problem solving.

Roderick, who performs with the indie rock band The Long Winters, did not reply to media requests for comment but did defend himself on Twitter.

"Six hours is the length of time between meals. Lunch at noon, dinner at six. They're literally saying child abuse," he wrote. He added that the backlash was "astonishing. My kid is fine, everybody."

Roderick then deleted his account after old racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic tweets of his resurfaced.