A millennial mom fired up a heated debate after posting a TikTok video asking baby boomers to avoid speaking with children they don’t know.
The mother went viral after saying that boomers created “toxic cycles of self-loathing,” which they continue “to puke” onto “an innocent child.”
But the online community is fighting back, one user saying, “Not a boomer but I’ll be happy to oblige and ignore this woman and her progeny.”
Despite having multiple generations existing at the same time, there are extreme differences in characteristics and how we interact with the world and one another.
Most significantly, baby boomers – the second largest generation group, surpassed only by millennials – are very unlikely to use TikTok as a platform to voice his/her complaints.
That is exactly what a millennial mother did.
Known on TikTok as kay.n.zee (Kay), the young parent made a “formal request as a millennial mom for boomers to stop talking to children that you don’t know.”
Kay was heated over an encounter at a store when a boomer approached her and started flinging unwanted compliments at her 2-year-old daughter.
“…This boomer came up to us. She looked at my daughter, and she says, ‘Oh, you are so pretty.’ And my daughter just looks at her and doesn’t say anything, because she doesn’t talk to people that she doesn’t know. And I said, ‘Oh, thank you.’ She just stands there for a few moments, like, waiting for my daughter to respond.” After a few more words were exchanged, Kay says, “… then she says, ‘you don’t think you’re pretty?’ I was like, Oh my God. And I said ‘No, she knows she’s beautiful. She just doesn’t talk to people she doesn’t know.’ Why would you even plant that idea into her head? …She doesn’t know what not pretty is. She knows that everyone and everything is pretty, beautiful, interesting.”
She adds, “But it’s like, every chance that they get to puke it out onto an innocent child, they take it. So annoying.”
In the clip, that’s gone viral with 1.8 million views, the poster then goes on to share another experience when another boomer approached her and her daughter, who’s mixed race. The man said, “‘Man, she is beautiful. Look at that perfect olive complexion. Where is her father from?’”
“Leave us alone. Please stop talking to us,” she adds, suggesting that instead of embracing our differences, it’s better to ignore what makes each individual unique.
Toxic cycles
Forgetting to include Gen X, Kay continues, “Millennial and Gen Z parents are working so hard to break the toxic cycles of self-loathing and self-hatred that boomers instilled in them.”
Speaking with Bored Panda, Kay defended her opinions, saying that interactions, good and bad, can influence a child and the development of their character traits or qualities.
“If interactions between children and baby boomers – or anyone else – are appropriate, there will be positive effects,” she said. “If interactions between children and baby boomers – or anyone else – are forced and inappropriate, negative effects can occur such as people-pleasing tendencies.
“It is crucial for children to learn to be assertive and prepared for all social interactions, but first, when they are very young, they need to understand that their bodies, safety, and comfort need to be valued and protected.”
Her explanation goes well beyond a woman complimenting her little girl’s eyes and shoes.
“In my case, it was the woman who asked, ‘You don’t think you’re pretty?’ after my daughter didn’t respond to her first comment,” the OP shared.
Offering further clarification, the TikToker told Bored Panda that she did not mean to suggest there should be no intergenerational contact.
“First, I would like to clarify the phrasing of ‘asking baby boomers to stop talking to children’,” she said. “This is something that is getting misinterpreted. I actually said to ‘stop talking to children that you don’t know other than simple things like ‘Hi’ or ‘I like your shoes’…I just didn’t like how the woman continued to push my 2-year-old to talk to her when my daughter clearly didn’t want to and did not address me whatsoever,” she added.
Heated debate
Despite her explanations, many online users are expressing their disappointment in Kay’s representation of the “entitled” millennial, arguing that “calling an entire generation toxic IS toxic.”
“This breaks my heart. Connecting with other humans is so important. You can have things delivered if you don’t want to be around people,” shares one user.
A second netizen writes, “Why are people so hostile? When old people talk to me and my daughter, I think it’s them just connecting with another person and their past.”
“Talking to our elders is a great way to get wisdom and knowledge. I hate how society is becoming so anti everything. Everyone is too scared to speak their mind, too scared to do anything,” pens a third.
“Not a boomer but I’ll be happy to oblige and ignore this woman and her progeny,” says a fourth.
Meanwhile, Kay’s thoughts are supported by other millennials.
One writes, “This is why it’s so hard for me to take my kids to the grocery stores. The older generations just don’t respect normal boundaries.”
“I totally get what you’re saying, the older generations tend to be pretty pushy,” shares a second.
A third cyber surfer suggests generational differences guides conversation. “My boomer mum always defaults to discussing physical attributes as conversation over any other subject. They’re obsessed with external appearances.”
Another netizen jumps in saying, “I have a problem where random kids will try to talk to me. I never respond, and their parents get mad, like ‘Uh, my kid is talking to you.’”
What are your thoughts on this story? Do you feel the TikToker is being unreasonable? Please share your thoughts and then share the story so we can hear what others have to say!
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