It can't be easy to have the world watching your every move and picking apart all your decisions. But 19 Kids and Counting's Duggar family, which rose to fame with its TLC reality TV show and spin-off, Counting On, have grown large social media platforms. Now that they're not on TV anymore, fans follow the personal accounts of the Duggars, and Joy-Anna Duggar has been one of the most active, posting updates on her family.
A recent update shared by Joy-Anna has been picked apart by people questioning her parenting decisions.
On Instagram Stories earlier this week, Joy-Anna shared a photo of one of her kids having fun with a balloon. While she didn't specify which kiddo it was in the picture, it looks like 2-year-old Evelyn and not 4-year-old Gideon.
It's hard to tell because, in the photo, Joy-Anna's kiddo is pressing their face against an inflated balloon so tightly their face is squished.
But you can tell that whatever was going on, it was clear the family was having fun.
On the image, Joy-Anna added the caption, "Ballon faces." And even with their face squished up against the balloon, there was a lot of fun, which is clear by the big smile on Joy-Anna's kid's face.
But when people in a popular Reddit community saw the image, they pointed out some concerns.
The members of Reddit's Duggar Snark community voiced concern for Evelyn's safety.
The concern came from people worried about Joy-Anna's toddler playing with a balloon and the safety issues that stem from that.
"This is why children raising children is so dangerous," one Redditor wrote. "Any other adult without kids knows you never have a balloon or any other plastic up against a little kid face."
"Yeah, my husband's friend lost a child to a balloon getting in their throat," another person warned.
"That is SO dangerous," wrote another.
The criticism continued with people expressing their concern for Joy-Anna's judgment.
One person called allowing a toddler to play with a balloon "child endangerment," while someone else wrote, "Oh my god. What a horrific sight to behold."
Another shared, "This woman has never heard the horrors of children being rushed to the ER."
But not everyone understood what the big deal with the photo was.
"Would someone mind to explain to me what the problem is, except the typo?" one person wrote, referencing the typo "ballon" on the photo's caption. "I feel like I'm missing something."
"Balloons are dangerous for toddlers," someone replied. "If they pop, a piece could get stuck in their windpipe and it could be impossible to get it out in time."
"They aren't supposed to be toys," another Redditor answered. "Could pop and scare a kid, hurt their ears, balloon piece goes in their eye, mouth, etc.," adding that Evelyn is too young to play with the balloon.
The Redditors are correct: Experts do warn parents about allowing young kids to play with balloons.
According to The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, balloons pose a serious suffocation risk. But the commission notes that's mainly for uninflated balloons.
"Because of the danger of suffocation, the CPSC recommends that parents and guardians do not allow children under the age of eight to play with uninflated balloons without supervision," the agency notes.
"The CPSC does not believe that a completely inflated balloon presents a hazard to young children. If the balloon breaks, however, CPSC recommends that parents immediately collect the pieces of the broken balloon and dispose of them out of the reach of young children."
It certainly appeared that Joy-Anna was supervising her kiddos playing with an inflated balloon, so probably not too much to pick apart and worry about.
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