When parents share photos and videos of their kids online, they’re opening themselves up to the world of parents who think they know best.
Mommy-shaming due to social media posts has become a consequence of using apps and platforms that allow you to upload photos of your children. No matter what, other people think they know what is best in terms of raising someone else’s kids.
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Some moms don’t really have a good sense of humor, either.
Sometimes, moms will post videos and photos to make a joke or make light of a situation they go through with their kids, and other moms take grave offense.
Sometimes, it’s harder to get people to understand you when things are lost in context online.
Recently, one mom named Christel Holland received a ton of backlash on TikTok after posting a video of her children.
The mom of two to a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son posted a video of both of her children with purple mouths.
The video had a voiceover from the mom saying that both of her kids had, “eaten a Sharpie marker.” Of course, this is something that caused alarm.
Holland wasn’t serious about the “eating Sharpies” statement.
In one of the videos she posted, she captioned it with, “Only moms know what this actually is,” alluding to the fact that the purple mouths were caused by something quite common.
However, after the video went viral, people began to complain about how it was a terrible parenting move to post it on TikTok.
In reality, Holland told BuzzFeed that her children both suffered from the same problem.
She explained that when her daughter was a baby, she noticed that every time she had a bottle, there would be a thick white substance on her lips and tongue.
She chalked it up at first to being from leftover formula.
However, her doctor said it was something else entirely.
After noticing that the white stuff stayed on her daughter’s mouth for hours after her bottle, her doctor confirmed that it wasn’t the formula, but instead oral thrush.
Thrush is a fungal infection that is more common in babies than one would believe.
According to the Mayo Clinic, oral thrush is quite common is babies.
It’s produced by the overgrowth of candida, which is also the main cause of vaginal yeast infections in women.
The substance can cause an overgrowth of yeast in young babies in their mouths, as well — which was what happened to both of Holland’s children.
Parenting website What to Expect shares some interesting information about oral thrush in babies, too.
The site states that some infants pick up oral thrush as early as in the womb.
“Though the fungal infection known as thrush shows up in baby’s mouth, it probably started in your birth canal as a yeast infection, and that’s where your baby picked it up as she made her way into the world,” an article about the condition said .
Which means that it lies dormant in the baby for some time.
It may not show up immediately, but it can grow from as early as birth to a few months. However, it’s not something that is to cause alarm as it can be treated.
Experts say that babies usually have thrush from birth to two months of age.
However, older children can develop it as well if they are taking antibiotics and other medication that can cause an overgrowth of yeast.
Additionally, pacifiers and baby bottles can contribute to oral thrush.
What To Expect also states that the overly moist environment that is created when babies suck on pacifiers and baby bottle tops can allow the yeast to “thrive” and grow more.
Luckily, there is a safe medication on the market that helps babies combat oral thrush.
Sure, it may be scary when your newborn undergoes any discomfort, but the medicine is not something to worry about in the long run.
To combat this, doctors recommend a medicine called “Gentian Violet.”
Doctors suggest that Gentian Violet is a way to treat the infection when it appears in babies. They are to take it orally for 10 days until the infection is cleared up. The major side effect of the medicine happens to be turning babies’ mouths purple.
Holland said in the beginning that she didn’t know much about oral thrush.
She told BuzzFeed:
“I didn’t know much about thrush, since I was a new mom, but with my son, I noticed almost instantly that it was thrush and knew I needed to get the violet medicine as soon as possible because thrush can be a pretty big pain to get rid of.”
Regardless of the real reasoning behind the purple mouths, people on TikTok were not happy about the video.
Some people who aren’t parents — like younger kids on the app —began sharing the video online, without knowledge of the true reasoning behind the purple mouths. Many parents also had concerns about video being shared as well.
But, Holland said she just wanted to share a funny, viral video on the platform.
TikTok is used for sending viral videos online — so, that’s what Holland did. She made light of a situation that is normalized for her. It’s not as serious as everyone was making it out to be and her children are healthy and fine.
Plus, she offered some advice for moms who do need to use the medicine for their own kids.
The purple in their mouths eventually wears off, but on clothes, it’ll last a while. Holland said to make sure to be careful with clothing and the medicine because that purple will definitely stain!
h/t: Buzzfeed
