My Heart Breaks: Bengaluru Influencer’s Video Of House Help’s Kid Eating on Floor Sparks Netizens Outrage

Viral Video: In the age of reels, even simple moments can spark bigger conversations. What started as a simple reel on Indian parenting turned into a social media storm for Bengaluru-based nutritionist Sonakshi Sharma, after she posted a video showing her baby eating in a high chair while her househelp’s child ate kheer and roti while sitting on the floor.   

Sonakshi Sharma, known for sharing health and parenting reels, recently uploaded a video discussing “baby-led weaning” (BLW), a self-feeding approach for toddlers that many see as a Western parenting trend. In her caption, Sharma argued that BLW isn’t foreign to India and has long existed in Indian households in simpler forms. “Remember our mums being so busy with housework that they used to leave us with the food, and in that process, we learnt to eat,” she wrote.      

But what caught the internet’s eye was the stark visual in her reel: Sharma’s baby eating in a high chair in one frame, followed by her domestic worker’s three-year-old son eating kheer and roti while sitting on the floor. The contrast triggered a flood of backlash online, with many arguing that the video, even if unintentionally, reinforced class divides in everyday domestic spaces. 

While Sharma explained that the video clips were filmed on different days and the child had chosen to sit on the floor, she clarified, “I don’t practise idiotic things like untouchability in 2025, for God’s sake! We just valued this child’s preference, that’s it.” She added that while she understood the concerns raised, the situation did not warrant pity, stating, “You’re seeing a ‘househelp’s child’ sitting on the floor, while I’m seeing just a child who chose to sit on the floor, the same way my daughter would sometimes choose to do.”  

Watch Viral Video Here 

Netizens Split: ‘Just Parenting or A Privilege Flex?’

Despite her clarification, social media remained divided. Some users questioned why a poor child sitting on the floor needed to be part of the reel, calling it an unnecessary inclusion that took away from the parenting message. Others defended Sharma, stating that sitting on the floor is a normal practice in many Indian households and that the outrage was misplaced.

The internet wasn’t united. Some users defended Sharma and her parenting, pointing out that many Indian families, including theirs, eat while sitting on the floor, calling the outrage “misplaced.”  

One user commented, “My father-in-law eats on the floor, my husband eats on the floor, my son eats on the floor, why is it a problem if a child does it?”

Another viewpoint, “My heart breaks for the child sitting on the ground. Poverty shouldn’t define where they sit. We should break these cycles, not film them.”

Others questioned why the clip was shared at all, “What did this have to do with BLW? Feels like rage bait for reels.We only see what you post. Maybe think twice before sharing something that can trigger people unless that was the goal.”

One of the comments also read “God!! All the drama queens crying in the comments because kid is sitting on the floor 😭😭😭😭😭It's an Indian household, we all sit on the floor”

Choice and Privilege in Everyday Moments

What this viral reel also highlighted is how simple, everyday moments can reflect unspoken privileges. For many, a child eating on the floor is part of daily life; practical, familiar, unremarkable. But when these moments are captured and shared online, they can take on a different meaning, exposing the invisible lines that often separate choice from circumstance.

In a world where “parenting choices” are frequently discussed as conscious decisions, it is easy to forget that not every family has the same set of choices to begin with. A high chair versus the floor may not always be about style or preference but about what is available, accessible, or normalised in different homes.

And in the age of reels, where personal stories are broadcast for wider audiences, these everyday realities can start larger conversations, reminding us that intent and impact can look different once a moment leaves the privacy of a home and enters the public gaze.

Sometimes, it is not about where a child sits, not parenting, but about who gets to decide, and who gets to share that moment with the world.

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