TikTok mom who ‘doesn’t fear bacteria’ explains why she lets her baby eat dirt, sand and sticks

One mom has taken to TikTok to share her alternative parenting methods. From encouraging her son to choose his own name when he’s of age, to specifically asking people not to wash their hands when touching her baby and allowing him to eat rocks, the mom has received a mass of mixed views online.

In a clip that has since racked up 16.8 million views, @comingupfern responds to a question from one of her 584K followers. ‘Why do you let him eat sand?’, the TikTok user asked.

The vegan mom explains that she allows her “exclusively breastfed” baby to eat “sticks, rocks, sand, dirt and unsanitized shopping carts” because she doesn’t trust “billion-dollar campaigns intended to shift the public’s perception on health.”

“I do not fear bacteria, in fact, I welcome it”, she said, “I trust nature and my baby.”

While the comments were turned off, this particular TikTok clip has fuelled much concern. So much so, YouTubers Mr Beard and nickisnotgreen collaboratively created a video to voice their opinions.

In a video titled, ‘This Woman’s Going to Kill Her Baby (w/ nickisnotgreen)’, the pair delve into several of her TikToks, including one where she appears to refer to antibiotics as ‘baby poison.’

Mr Beard said, “The scariest thing about this is that she’s not going to let her child have antibiotics,”

“So while Fern is in the river, f***ing sucking on rocks, and he gets an infection, she is not going to give him any antibiotics to help cure that infection.”

In another viral TikTok, the mom shares how she specifically tells people ‘to not wash their hands’ before touching her newborn baby.

Naturally, fellow TikTok users flocked to the video with mixed opinions. One commented, “A baby with a strong immune system will fight off a virus much more effectively than a baby with a weaker immune system.”

While one TikTok user highlighted, “Must be underestimating the amount of people who have blood and faeces on their hands.”

“I’m washing my hands AFTER I touched him”, another joked.