A first-time mom's playful-ish attempt to enforce a no-kissing rule for her newborn has folks online debating boundaries and baby safety.
In a viral TikTok posted on Jan. 1, 2026, Haeli Christiansen lightly slapped her mother on the head after she tried to kiss the newborn, framing it as a "gentle reminder" not to do so.
The clip racked up more than 12.5 million views, with commenters split between calling the moment disrespectful and defending the rule as a necessary precaution to protect vulnerable infants from illness.
Newborn babies are vulnerable to illness and infection as their immune systems begin to develop, and close contact with a baby always poses the risk of passing germs. As many people commenting on Christiansen’s clip pointed out, if an adult has a cold sore, the herpes simplex virus can be passed to a baby through kissing.
The new mom captioned the clip, "the word of the day is 'boundaries.'"
Commenters shared conflicting takes on the viral grandma slap.
One wrote, “I have NEVER had the urge to kiss a baby that isn’t mine.. family or not. I don’t understand the obsession 😭😭 it makes me so furious that people even ask!!”
“I agree with no kisses, but don’t kiss the baby in front of her,” wrote another.
“BABIES GET IMMUNITY FROM MOM NOT GRANDMA. Baby came out of mom means they share the same germs,” wrote Shantay.
Haeli Christiansen did not immediately reply to the Daily Dot's request for comment via TikTok.
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