WATCH: Mother who waxes toddler's unibrow sparks online debate

"I don't care if you criticise me"...

A mother has taken to TikTok to share her controversial take on protecting her daughter from bullying. 

Leah Garcia, a mom from Texas, shared her video that has the internet divided. See the post below: 

WATCH: "It's raining spoons" in Mzansi

The video above demonstrates the mom pulling a waxing strip from the centre of her daughter's eyebrows before the three-year-old says: "Ow, that hurt me. Ow, mom, that hurt me still."

This post comes at a time where people are more expressive of their bodies paired with advocacy for the right to autonomy. 

Read More: Shocking! Angelina Jolie makes abuse claims against ex, Brad Pitt

Leah was bombarded with comments both from people who supported or disagreed with her parenting choice.

Here are some of the comments in support of the mother's decision: 

• "She’s going to thank you later in life!"
• "Ugh I wish my mom did this for me. Got bullied so hard for my eyebrows and my arms."
  
• "We live in a world full of mean people. You are protecting her in the best ways."
• "Kids can be so cruel. I totally see why you did it momma."
• "Totally would do this too!! My parents didn't let me shave my legs and I always wore jeans, I could never wear dresses or skirts like the other girl."

"I don't care! I don't care! I'd rather y'all call me a bad mom before I let my three-year-old walk around with a unibrow like my parents did," she captioned the TikTok video. 

Leah isn't taking this criticism lightly. Here is how she clapped back at the haters: "I understand where critics are coming from but kids can be cruel." "Waxing her unibrow isn't giving in to bullies, it's preventing them from targeting my daughter."

Read More: KZN: Should badly behaved kids be banned from using cellphones?

Are you or someone you know a victim of bullying?

Here are some effective ways to manage a bully: 

• Walk away when the bully approaches you. Try and imagine you’re walking away from a stranger. Both you and your body language will show you don’t care.
•  Concentrate on thinking about something else (maybe a concert you want to go to, or a new outfit you want to buy.)
• When the bully approaches you, count to 100 and keep walking. They’ll never see how upset you are.
• Yelling STOP and walk away. Keep walking and don’t turn around no matter what they say.
• When a bully calls you a name or tells you your sneakers are ugly -- look at them in the eyes and laugh hysterically and say, "I know my sneakers are ugly." Keep laughing hysterically and walk away without any additional conversation
• When the bully harasses you and calls you names, look them in the eyes, LAUGH and walk away without any additional conversation.

To read more, click here. 

Image courtesy of 

Follow us on social media:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• TikTok