A mom influencer sparked outrage after seemingly making her toddler sleep on the driveway due to her emetophobia.
The seconds-long clip posted by Ashley, who goes by @the_accidental_adult on TikTok, was enough to start an avalanche of criticism directed at the content creator.
The video shows her son sleeping on a makeshift bed on the driveway while being cuddled by his father. A small chair and a pile of books are also visible near the bed.
Highlights
- Ashley, a mom influencer, is facing backlash over a video of her toddler sleeping on the driveway.
- She explained that she has emetophobia, a fear of vomiting, so making her sick son go outside was the best decision for both of them.
- Ashley responded to accusations that she neglected her child, insisting that her son is “very loved” and cared for by both parents.
Image credits: the_accidental_adult/TikTok
“POV: you have emetophobia, so your toddler’s stomach virus gets moved to the driveway,” she captioned the video, set to It’s the Hard Knock Life from the musical Annie.
The Cleveland Clinic defines emetophobia as a “mental health condition in which you experience an intense fear of vomiting.” Those with the condition are constantly worried about vomiting, causing them anxiety and panic attacks.
According to the clinic, emetophobia is rare, affecting 0.1% of people around the world and being more common among women than men.
Image credits: the_accidental_adult/TikTok
It can be triggered by hearing or seeing someone else vomit, experiencing nausea or vomiting, or even reading words like “barf” or “puke,” leading to symptoms like shaking, sweating, an upset stomach, and increased heart rate.
In the caption of the video, the “momfluencer” justified her decision to make her child rest outdoors, writing, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Still, the video did not land well after it was posted on TikTok on Tuesday (May 19). It quickly went viral, amassing 6.6 million views, with people accusing the mother of mistreating her son and using him as “content."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Ashley captioned the viral video
“As someone with raging emetophobia, this is insane," one commenter wrote. "Your kid should be in his own room in his own bed. I’d be the one outside if I really couldn’t deal with it."
“Right? What kind of selfish BS is this?” another critic asked, while a third shared, "I can’t imagine being sick with a stomach virus and having to go outside and lay on the pavement."
“I couldn’t imagine doing that to my kid,” echoed another viewer. “Especially not filming it after like it’s a cute quirk and not a complete failure as a parent.”
Image credits: the_accidental_adult/TikTok
Someone else claimed that Ashley had used her toddler as “an accessory” to gain views on social media.
People with emetophobia feel at ease by taking different steps to prevent any situation that might involve vomiting, such as locating a bathroom and staying close to it, sleeping with a trash can next to their bed, and avoiding long car rides and boat rides.
Most cases of emetophobia happen after a traumatic experience with vomiting. For example, vomiting in public, having an illness that caused a lot of vomiting, or choking on food.
Ashley justified her decision, claiming that her toddler wanted to go outside
In a follow-up video, the "momfluencer" responded to a comment that read, “I have emetophobia too and I would never banish my child to the DRIVEWAY.”
“Okay, so some of you parenting experts are acting like I banished my son to the driveway with a loaf of bread and no supervision,” Ashley began.
“Number one: he wanted to go outside. I am a severe emetophobe, so hearing that from my stomach-bugged toddler was very welcome. I was so happy he wanted to go outside. Also, fresh air is amazing for you when you’re not feeling well."
She added, “He also had unlimited iPad access, which was a once-in-a-lifetime treat for him. He had two loving parents catering to him the entire time. We did not leave his side.”
The content creator explained that she and her husband brought their son inside when temperatures rose and it got too hot for him.
Ashley insisted that the toddler was never “neglected” and that he is “very loved.”
In a separate video, Ashley stood by her decision once again when she responded to a viewer who threatened to file a report against her.
“Please report me,” the mom defiantly said. “I would love to see what the report looks like. Is it that I had my kid outside getting fresh air when he wasn’t feeling well? Is it that I made sure that he was in a shady spot? Is it that both of his parents stayed out with him all day until we told him to come inside?"
She further shared that she wanted to print some critical comments she found “entertaining” and put them on her refrigerator.
Image credits: the_accidental_adult/TikTok
“You guys are acting like I threw my son in a dumpster in a foreign place and ran away,” said the TikToker, who has 1,370 followers on her page. “I have emetophobia, and it can be pretty debilitating at times, so I made the best decision as a parent in that moment because I didn’t want my reaction to scare him.”
The negative comments continued, with people questioning whether her son truly wanted to go outside and some users even comparing her to Ruby Franke, the infamous family vlogger who was jailed and charged with aggravated child ab*se of two of her children in 2023.
Image credits: the_accidental_adult/TikTok
“You can call me selfish,” Ashley said. “I’m baffled. But I gotta say I’m loving the spotlight, so keep it coming. I’m going to ride this wave. And thank you for the viral video. It’s exciting. This is a big moment.”
In another follow-up video, the New York mother filmed her son, who is a child model, and asked him whether the comments claiming he had been forced to sleep outside were “silly.”
The child then went inside a cage, and his mother appeared to close the door, jokingly saying, “Goodnight!”
