The boy, who had been egging the man on for some minutes, is seen holding his face and screaming after the shove, claiming the incident was child abuse.

The viral video has divided social media because when you watch the full version, taken by a witness at a park in the United States, you can see the boy won’t give up in his attempts to get the man to react.

While some said the man was justified in his actions and surprised he lasted so long, others said children should never be hit no matter the circumstances.

In a backstory also shared online, it is claimed the child and a friend had been terrorising other kids at the park, at a splash pad and in the playground for several hours.

The man filming the video was reportedly driving down the street when the two kids cut him off so he wound down the window and told them off.

It’s then that the trouble started, when it’s claimed the children were throwing rocks at his car and others, trying to scratch them, and were swearing at the man and his wife.

“The man went to the concession stand (of the park) and found the guy who is the park manager and asked him for help,” said the background statement shared online.

“The park manager told the kids to leave and they started swearing … then left for a minute down the path, threw down their bikes, and came back for more.”

In the video the park manager is trying to call someone for help and repeatedly asks the child to stop touching him or get out of the way.

Finally the man has enough and pushes the boy away at the throat with enough force for him to fall on the ground.