A 22-year-old mother lets her eight-month-old baby boy eat sand, rock, sticks and dirt as she believes it can build the immune system in babies against harmful diseases and allergies.
Alice Bender strongly believes that the babies should be exposed to bacteria till the time they are being breastfed which can protect them from harmful diseases and allergies instead of being very particular about hygiene and sanitation.
The mum, who is a strict vegetarian, filmed the moment her toddler chew on the shopping trolley straps and is known to regularly documents her life raising his baby boy Fern in Arizona, US.
She defended her parenting style which goes against general medical advice. On her TikTok, Bender revealed that her son is still ‘exclusively breasted’ but she lets him ‘eat’ whatever he wants to that includes sticks, rocks, dirt, and sand.
Bender claimed that germs are something that we should not be afraid of, Dailymail UK reported.
Bender’s controversial video on TikTok has garnered over 12 million views so far in which she blamed a ‘series of billion-dollar campaigns’ in Western medicine for shifting the public’s perspective on bacteria and babies.
She said in the video, “I do not fear bacteria. In fact, I welcome it. I trust nature and my baby. It is not a coincidence babies have this instinct while they are breastfeeding.”
Netizens gave very polarised opinions about her parenting style and criticised her for putting the baby’s life at risk.
