Man Reunites Mom With Lost Baby in Viral TikTok, Internet Shocked by Mom's Reaction
In a viral TikTok video with over 2 million views, one man reunites a woman with her lost baby on a U.K. beach. What should have been a joyous interaction between the man and the mother turned out to be somewhat awkward, and many online were shocked by the mother's reaction or lack thereof.
The TikTok, posted by Lex Hartop, shows the man walking down a flight of stairs with a baby. According to LADbible, the man in the video is Michael Currid, Hartop's partner.
"We found a baby crawling towards a busy road," the voiceover says in the video. As Currid makes his way down the stairs and onto the beach, a family calls over to him, and they take a moment to discuss, perhaps, who the baby might belong to. "Nobody knew whose the baby was," the voiceover continues. But as Currid walks around the beach with the baby in his arms, he finally makes contact with the mother.
The mother approaches Currid, but she is on the phone, so she takes her baby back without thanking him or showing any sort of emotional reaction. She then kicks a soccer ball and walks away, baby in her arms, the phone still in hand. "She wasn't even bothered," says the voiceover. "Disgusting."
Currid makes his way back up to where Hartop is standing, looking incredulous. Hartop then shows viewers the staircase behind them, which leads up to the road they claimed to have first found the baby.
Users were both moved by Currid's and Hartop's kindness, as well as completely shocked by the mother's lack of reaction.
"Any loving parent would have been frantic after about 30 seconds trying to find [their child]," said one commenter named Jessica. "I'm genuinely so concerned by the lack of emotion from the mum."
"No worry, no panic, nothing. Not a care in the world," commented another TikToker named Amelia. "Heartbreaking."
"This bothers me on every level," said another commenter.
In a statement about the video via LADbible, Hartop said: "The baby must have crawled a long way and was either ignored or not noticed by anybody. From noticing the baby to returning her to her mother was all-around five minutes."
Many on TikTok were concerned that the woman wasn't even the child's mother, but in the statement obtained by LADbible, Hartop said: "The baby said 'mum' upon seeing their mother turn round from a distance.
"The mother said nothing as Michael gave her back," he continued.
"As a parent of a boy of a similar age, thank you," commented one mother on TikTok. "Please don't let this stop you from caring in the future! I would have been crying with appreciation!!"
