The video, which showed the server filling drinks at work, was posted to TikTok on January 24 by Abby (@abbylacyy). So far, it has received more than 820,000 views and hundreds of comments from angry parents who felt judged by Abby’s remarks.
Of course, parents are no strangers to judgment. In 2016, Parents.com reported that a national survey of 2,200 parents with children ages 5 and under revealed: “almost all parents feel judged, all the time.”
“A staggering 90 percent of moms and 85 percent of dads reported feeling judged—and almost half of them said they feel like their parenting skills are being critiqued nearly all the time,” the website further explained.
Moms who participated in the survey reported feeling the most judged by strangers, followed by other parents, their family members, and finally, their in-laws, Parents.com added. Dads, on the other hand, reported feeling judged by their partners.
“Parents typically notice a negative comment about their parenting four times a day, meaning there are more than 43 million judgments felt daily across the nation,” The Independent stated.
According to the paper, these judgments can range from who the parents are as people to the things they buy their children. And sadly, a decent amount of parents believe that the pandemic only increased the level of judgment they receive daily.
In her viral five-second clip, Abby called out parents who order their children sugary drinks, going so far as to label the parenting choice as “repulsive.”
“The feminine urge to water down every single kid’s lemonade or soda because it’s absolutely repulsive how much sugar these parents let their kids drink,” read the video’s text overlay.
In the post’s caption, Abby added: “‘And she’ll have a coke’ ma’am it’s EIGHT p.m. and she’s SEVEN.”
As previously stated, some of Abby’s commenters were self-described parents who, not only took issue with the possibility of Abby “messing” with their parenting choices by diluting their children’s drinks but who were angered by her judgment.
“[You] could just do your job and not mess with how other people are choosing to parent,” wrote one TikTok user. Meanwhile, a mom under the username MLR told Abby to “stop judging parents.”
Still, some commenters took the opportunity to pile onto the already-upset parents.
“All the bad parents angered and typing,” said Sarahkate Bell.