A mother has divided social media after revealing that she keeps her young daughter tied on a leash when they're out in public.
A woman named Alexis - who goes by the handle @alexishealth on TikTok - shared a video of her saying "give me your hand" to her child sitting in a shopping cart before tying a pink leash around her wrist.
While at a store, viewers can see that one side of the leash is attached to Alexis, while the other side is on the little girl's wrist. In one instance, she bent down to reach something on the bottom of the shelf to demonstrate how the stretchy leash allows her and her kid to remain connected.
"I'm tired of the world being this way but I’m NEVER tired of protecting my girls,” Alexis captioned her video. "I’m okay looking like a crazy mom. As long as my babies are safe."
Watch Alexis' video below:The clip amassed 12.9 million views and 1.5 million likes on the social media platform and certainly became a controversial topic amongst divided viewers.
Some users supported the mother's parenting choice, with one person writing: "I am tired of seeing kids being taken!!!!! Good job mama. At this point, I would do whatever I could to prevent an abduction."
Another user interjected: "I bought my little one a backpack with a 'leash' on it and got so many comments. but I'd rather him safe the worry over what people think of me."
And, a third user added: "Girl do what you feel is necessary for your babies safety and that’s all that matters."
However, several other people slammed Alexis and believed that her protectiveness was over the top.
One user penned: "Unfrt ur also teaching ur child that world is a scary place that they can’t navigate without u… speaking as a former child of an overprotective parent."
A second user chimed in and commented: "It is not like this all over the world. Denmark is one of the safest countries - and babies sleep outside ALONE in their strollers!"
Lastly, one more person shared: "LMAOOO this is wild."
After her TikTok went viral, Alexis posted a follow-up clip stating that using a leash was very necessary for children on the autism spectrum.
"I used to work with children on the spectrum. I don’t share this about myself very often, but I was an ABA therapist," she said. "Something that’s common with children who have autism is they do tend to elope."
The doting mother also did an interview with Bored Panda where she further explained that the item provided her with a sense of security and that it doesn’t seem to bother her child. She also clarified that she only uses it when they go shopping or on a walk.
"My youngest is still too young to express vocally how she feels, however, I don’t think she minds it. In fact, every time I pull it out of my purse, she puts her wrist out," she claimed. "She also likes playing with it while shopping. My oldest doesn’t mind it at all.
"I know from personal experience that children on the spectrum elope," Alexis continued. "It’s very scary and dangerous, especially when in public. I had one boy in particular who was very tall and strong. We physically would have to try and grab him from going into the street.
"This wrist leash would allow children on the spectrum to roam around without having to be physically touched," the mother concluded.
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