A Malaysian woman who described herself as a “Gen Z mother” has sparked backlash online after sharing photos of her babies with pacifiers taped to their mouths while she was driving.
In a now-deleted Threads post, the user, known as Syadajeff, uploaded images showing her twin babies seated in car seats with their pacifiers secured using tape. She wrote that she was proud of managing to drive her children to the hospital alone, describing the trip as usually chaotic.
In a follow-up post, Syada explained that taping the pacifiers was a “last resort” after struggling to calm her babies before their hospital appointment. She said she had spent hours preparing and soothing them, eventually resorting to taping the pacifiers for about 13 minutes during the drive.
She acknowledged that the action was risky but said the babies were unharmed.
The posts quickly drew criticism from netizens, particularly other parents, who warned that taping a pacifier could pose serious safety risks, including choking and breathing difficulties. One mother urged parents to use pacifier clips instead or to stop the car safely if a child becomes distressed.
Following the backlash, Syada issued a public apology on Jan 15, admitting that her decision was a mistake made in the heat of the moment.
“I admit it was a stupid solution and could have endangered my babies,” she wrote, adding that she had reached out privately to apologise to those who criticised her.
She also assured the public that she does not tape her children’s mouths at home and asked others not to continue sharing photos of her children.
Syada ended her apology by saying she had failed to properly assess the situation and vowed to become a better mother, thanking netizens for their concern.
