An author’s recent post on X, detailing her unusual response to a child’s request, has sparked a lively debate online. The incident unfolded when the mother, Keerti, refused to show a young child a picture she had taken of her food. When the child began crying and the parents intervened, Keerti responded by imitating the child’s cries, leading to mixed reactions from social media users.
Keerti shared a picture of a steaming hot plate of momos with soup and red chutney on X. Along with the photo, she recounted the incident where a child, approximately 2-3 years old, approached her and asked to see the picture. Despite her polite refusal, the child started crying.
Keerti wrote in her post “As I clicked this pic, a kid, 2-3 yrs old approx, came over, pointed at my phone and said ‘dikhao’ (show me). I smiled at him, but politely declined saying, ‘aise kisi aur ka phone nahi dekhte’ (we shouldn’t check other people’s phones). He looked at me and immediately started crying out loud.”
When the parents asked her to show the picture to calm their child, Keerti decided to imitate the child’s crying, but louder. “But when the parents intervened, and told me to show this pic to the kid else he will keep on crying, that’s when even I started crying! Imitating the kid, but slightly louder. Parents shocked, kid double shocked,” she added.
Keerti continued, “He went back to his seat and I didn’t hear another word from him all the while I was there. He kept turning back to look at me, but that too stopped when I started to stare at him.”
Her post quickly went viral, garnering over 450,000 views and nearly 6,000 likes. The reactions were divided, with some users applauding her for setting boundaries and others criticizing her behavior as immature.
One X user commented, “If children are not taught boundaries by their parents, they’ll grow up indisciplined and uncouth.” Another wrote, “That was the most perfect response from your end. How ridiculously silly of parents to even ask you to show the pic. Hope both had a good lesson to learn.”
However, not everyone agreed with her approach. One individual expressed, “Some weird behaviour of yours getting applause from other weirdos.” Another added, “You didn’t show this pic to the kid, but posted it online for everyone to see.”
The incident has sparked a broader discussion on social media about parenting, boundaries, and appropriate responses to children’s behavior. What are your thoughts on Keerti’s interaction with the child?