A new mother, who faced intense criticism for not allowing her family to kiss her newborn, has responded to her detractors.

Haeli Christiansen, a 31-year-old first-time mom from Virginia, gained widespread attention on TikTok earlier this month. She posted a video showing her playfully slapping her own mother’s hand away as she tried to kiss her grandson on the head.

The clip showed Christiansen kissing her young son before her mom leaned in to kiss the baby too.

In the clip, Christiansen swiftly tapped her mother, halting her attempt to give the baby a kiss.

‘Gently reminding my mom to not kiss my newborn,’ she wrote in a text overlay, adding in the caption: ‘The word of the day is “boundaries.”‘

The video quickly amassed over 12.3 million views. While many parents supported Christiansen’s stance, a number of viewers criticized her, expressing sympathy for her mother.

In response to the controversy, Christiansen spoke exclusively with the Daily Mail to address the criticism.

“It’s not that serious. People are getting overly upset about something that doesn’t affect their lives at all,” she remarked, regarding the backlash.

A new mom who was fiercely slammed for not letting her family members kiss her baby has hit back at critics 

Haeli Christiansen, 31, from Virginia, went viral on TikTok earlier this month when she shared a video of herself slapping her mom as she attempted to plant a smooch on her grandson’s head

‘My husband and I made a decision to try to keep our baby healthy and safe, and at the end of the day that means more to us than someone in the comments saying I’m a bad mom because someone can’t kiss my son for a couple months.’

Christiansen explained that when she gave birth to her son, TJ, in October 2025, it was right in the heart of flu season.

Since infants ‘don’t have an established immune system or ability to fight illness themselves like adults do,’ she and her husband made the decision to not allow any extended family or friends to kiss their newborn for the first six months.

‘A common cold for adults could land a newborn in the hospital and be a life-threatening situation,’ Christiansen explained.

‘Also from personal experience – when I was a baby, I was hospitalized twice from being kissed by family who didn’t know they were sick at the time.’

She insisted that her family members ‘were not upset’ by the boundary and added that her mom was actually the one who pushed her to implement it.

‘Before he was born, [my mom] emphasized to me that I shouldn’t let people kiss him from her own experience with me,’ dished Christiansen. 

The clip showed Christiansen kissing her young son before her mom leaned in to kiss the baby too. But suddenly, Christiansen gave her a quick hit on the head, stopping her in her tracks

Since infants ‘don’t have an established immune system or ability to fight illness themselves like adults do,’ she doesn’t let any family or friends kiss her son, TJ

Christiansen explained that when she gave birth to her son, TJ, in October 2025, it was right in the heart of flu season, so she set the guideline for his first six months

‘She’s been very supportive. The rest of our family has been supportive as well. No one has really pushed back on us.’

Christiansen explained that when she posted the video, she and her mom ‘thought it would be funny’ and never expected it to get the reaction that it did.

‘Though there is truth to the video (not wanting people to kiss my baby right now) it was meant to be funny. I don’t slap my mom and she has a great relationship with me and my son,’ shared the new mom. 

‘I didn’t think it was something that was so controversial. I definitely did not expect this video to get the attention it has or spark the debate it has. 

‘We made the video and laughed thinking it would get a few hundred views and maybe resonate with some new moms.’ 

The nasty comments ranged from people calling her a ‘bad mom’ to viewers telling her she’s ‘ruining her baby’s life.’

Christiansen vowed that her son won’t miss out on grandma’s kisses because the rule is only for the first six months of his life while he’s building up immunity.

‘Our family and friends still love him and have loved visiting with him. Whether or not they are able to kiss him doesn’t determine the love they have for him,’ she stated. 

‘Despite what some comments have suggested, we haven’t and don’t plan to keep him “in a bubble.” 

‘There’s a big difference between that and just asking people not to put their mouth on my child for a few months.’ 

Despite the negativity surrounding the video, Christiansen is still glad she posted it and hopes that it will encourage other new parents to ‘feel confident’ in doing whatever they think is best for their baby.