One of the worst things a mother can hear is unsolicited critical advice about how to parent her children.
But something that's even worse is being told she is failing her children in some way.
Twin-girl mom, Alexis LaRue, of The Mejia Family on TikTok was recently criticized for her twin girls weighing more than the national average. According to the TikToker, who appears as @themejiafamily_ on the platform, the girls currently weigh in at 20 pounds, which is 4 pounds more than the national average for 7-month-old babies.
The confrontation started over a video in which LaRue and her daughters were opening a package sent to the family by Gerber. Inside the box was an adorable, neutral tone basket, which contained Gerber baby foods, snacks and even bibs.
You can watch the unboxing video here:
@themejiafamily_ Visit TikTok to discover videos!
As LaRue pulled more packages out of the basket, the twins became visibly curious, especially when their mom held containers of Gerber fruit puff snacks and yogurt drops.
This led to ridiculing comments like this one:
"They don't need snacks!!"
LaRue decided to respond to this particular comment in a follow-up video, in which she is holding the twins in her arms.
The video was a mere 15 seconds long, but LaRue's message was clear as a bell:
"Imagine telling a 7-month-old baby that they need to watch what they eat."
One of the babies cooed in response, which prompted LaRue to speak in a high-pitched voice for the rest of the video:
"That's crazy! That is crazy. I could never."
You can watch the video response here:
The video garnered serious attention, including 1.5 million heart reactions and nearly 25-thousand comments.
Thousands of fellow TikTokkers came forward in support of The Mejia Family, pointing out that, like adults, babies come in all shapes and sizes. Their health should be prioritized before their weight.
Not to mention the fact babies rarely, if ever, eat more than what their individual body needs.
Some showed their love for the twins and their mom:
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
Even some TikTokers in the medical field came forward:
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
@themeijafamily_/TikTok
A few dishearteningly did not get the memo, including this TikToker who commented:
"Imagine overfeeding your babies for views."
Like the earlier video, thousands came forward to show their support for LaRue, questioning why the TikToker bothered to make such a terrible comment, and to discourage people from judging the families they see online, especially over 15-second and 1-minute videos.
A frustrated LaRue replied in this video, covering her mouth and simply saying:
"I really hope this is a joke."
@themejiafamily_ Visit TikTok to discover videos!
Given the nature of the internet, the person behind the comment may have not been joking.
Unsolicited advice and trolling comments run rampant, especially in online parenting communities.
At least in LaRue's situation, the supportive community far outweighs the negative one.
