A first-time mom from Ohio has been praised online for her response when her own mother asked if she could kiss her newborn grandchild on the head.
Devon's family had come to visit so that her nephew, Gus could meet the baby and an unplanned video of the experience has gone viral.
"It did kind of perfectly capture what an afternoon in our family might be like: loud, intense, silly, lots of laughter, controversial subjects being discussed and occasionally some fine lines being drawn—usually by me," the 26-year-old told Newsweek.
In the video, secretly recorded by Devon's younger sister, Devon's mother LauraLynn is cradling her newborn granddaughter, Opal, and asks Devon if she could kiss the top of her head.
Devon's response was clear and firm: "No... If your face gets closer than it is right now, I have to remove her." LauraLynn was understanding and replied calmly, "Okay."
Devon, who goes by @devonstephen on TikTok, said that she and her fiancée Dustin had a couple of important conversations with their families on boundaries before her daughter's due date to ensure that no one was surprised by the rules they would put in place.
"The thing about true boundaries is they aren't set in place to punish anyone, but they are usually there to protect someone," Devon told Newsweek.
"I remember thinking, everyone else got to make the rules for raising their babies— why is it any different for us? This is a choice we have made to keep our baby safe, and we told our families about the choice.
"The best part is that even if they didn't understand it at first. They tried to, and they accepted it," she said.
The decision to set boundaries for their families was also influenced by their personal experiences. Devon told Newsweek that Gus has a serious medical condition that has required multiple surgeries since birth.
"Most people can't imagine what it's like to see a toddler in pain, but my family knows it all too well. So no matter how 'controversial' some people think it is to tell a grandma she isn't the exception to the no kissing rule, we're going to do whatever we can do avoid making our daughter sick," she said.
The new mom's clip quickly went viral on TikTok, amassing over 10 million views and over 15,000 comments from other social media users. Many of whom applauded the new mom for taking precautions.
"RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] is no joke, good on you mom!" one user wrote. Another fellow mom understood the no kissing rule after her aunt kissed her baby. "I cleaned her face and she was fine but I was so scared dude for like a week."
Another shared how their firstborn got foot and mouth disease at just two days old, which turned into a septic infection. "It was awful and traumatic. You're doing the right thing," they wrote.
Others, on the other hand, weren't so understanding. One called Devon's request "insane" while another joked that first time moms were "something else."
Devon reported that her parents fully supported her and Dustin's decision. "Neither of them would ever intentionally do something to betray our trust or put Opal at risk," she said.
The new mom had one response for those who were raging in the comments: "You can let your mom, your brother's girlfriend and the homeless man on Parsons Avenue kiss your baby. I don't recommend it but what the hell do I know? As for my baby, I'll go ahead and make the rules."
English (US) ·