A mother posted a video of her preparing breakfast for her one-year-old child, but what she served her daughter blew up the internet. Alexandra Sabol, the mother behind the viral video, garnered up to 12.3 million views after she was seen giving her child three small powdered doughnuts with a fruit sauce packet.
Alexandra Sabol making her daughter breakfast. | Source: TikTok.com/Alexandra Sabol
The breakfast had many people in shock, with some calling the TikTok mother a “lazy parent” and accusing her of giving her child an unhealthy meal. Others told her that making eggs and fruit would have taken less effort and been more nutritious at the same time.
Sabol’s video was filled with negative comments that went as far as calling her a “bare minimum” parent. People insinuated that her baby deserved more and told the mother that she needed to do better. “This can’t be real,” reacted a commenter.
The video even gained Sabol the tag “Doughnut Mom” and sparked many debates about the expectations and standards that are put on mothers. Eventually, another TikToker, Bailey McPher, came to Sabol’s defense.
Alexandra Sabol’s daughter | Source: TikTok.com/Alexandra Sabol
McPher spoke about the double standards that were taking place as the “Doughnut Mom” saga unfolded. She pointed out that people were most likely to criticize a mother, like Sabol, who did not have the biggest following or meet the expected beauty and body standards of the well-known mom influencers.
The TikTok user continued to emphasize that there are many times when influencers have filled their shopping carts with groceries worth hundreds of dollars and have some of the unhealthiest items. But since they are deemed as “skinny,” it is easy to overlook these things and notice it in the mother, who is authentically showing a day in her life.
McPher reasoned that some days were better than others for mothers. “I’m a mum, and yet, sometimes you know what [my daughter] eats? Cake pops, doughnuts, french fries, cookies because she deserves to live a little bit because sometimes, while it’s not the best, sometimes, mums, we’re not at our best. Sometimes, we lack a little bit,” expressed the mother.
McPher realized that Sabol was being judged for one video and wished people had looked through her profile before making her out to be a “bare minimum” parent.
The TikToker was saddened at the mean comments Sabol received and admitted that as she went through the comment section, she unfollowed other mutual mothers who were being unkind and judgmental towards Sabol.
In the end, McPher wanted to come to Sabol’s defense because she felt sorry about how she had been painted as a bad mother over a one-minute video. She wanted her clip to be a reminder that some days, mothers are not at their best but do what they can to be there for their children.
Bailey McPher defending Alexandra Sabol on TikTok | Source: TikTok.com/ bmcpher
She reiterated that it was not healthy to feed a child doughnuts and fruit sauce every day, but it was important to consider the context and not judge a person’s parenting based on a video that only gives you a glimpse of a few seconds into their lives.
McPher urged people to introspect. She reiterated that writing off people as bad parents only added to the judgment mothers endured and made it difficult for others to showcase some of the realistic and not-so-perfect moments in their lives.