After being on the receiving end of a lot of criticism, a mom has admitted that letting her child ride on a lawn mower probably wasn’t the best idea. In May 2025, Haley Orrock shared a video that showed her son sitting on a moving lawn mower while her partner mowed the lawn. She later deleted the video and uploaded a new one, letting other parents know that the viral video should serve as an example of what not to do.
She said she ‘didn’t know’ about the risks when she posted it.
Many parents found Haley’s original video appalling because of the risks that seemed obvious to them. When she uploaded the video, however, the risks were not so obvious to Haley. “Looking back, it seems so obviously dangerous,” the mom acknowledged. “But I grew up riding on the mower and didn’t think twice about it.”
She explained that she deleted the original video out of fear that she “might be spreading a bad idea instead of awareness.”
The mom finds it a bit ’embarrassing’ now.
@bonesandbuilds Yes, this is a little embarrassing to share. I ended up taking down the original video because too many people weren’t reading the caption—and I realized I might be spreading a bad idea instead of awareness. So in case you didn’t know: DON’T DO THIS. • Looking back, it seems so obviously dangerous. But I grew up riding on the mower and didn’t think twice about it. I’m just grateful I learned the risk before my baby got hurt. Sharing now in hopes of saving a few tiny fingers and toes—especially for the parents who grew up feral like me.
♬ I Had Some Help – Post Malone
While she saw nothing wrong with her video when she first uploaded it, she can see the issue now. Though sharing the video and seeing people’s responses has been a bit “embarrassing,” Haley is also “grateful.”
“I’m just grateful I learned the risk before my baby got hurt,” the mom wrote on TikTok. “Sharing now in hopes of saving a few tiny fingers and toes—especially for the parents who grew up feral like me.”
Just to make it clear to parents who might make the same mistake that she did, she added, “In case you didn’t know: DON’T DO THIS.”
But critics told the mom that it was actually ‘common sense.’
Luckily, Haley realized how dangerous letting a kid ride on a lawn mower can be before anything serious happened. But many other TikTok users still thought she learned the lesson far too late.
“I fear this is common sense????” one person commented on the video.
Many others felt the same way. “You didn’t think that a machine with BLADES was dangerous and you shouldn’t let your kid on it????” another person questioned.
“I genuinely don’t understand how anyone could think this was safe,” a third critic commented. “There are blades going at an insanely fast speed under where your child is sitting. One bump and he could fall forward.”
Some of the people who watched the video were truly baffled by Haley’s explanation. “‘Didn’t know about kids and lawn mowers,'” another person wrote, quoting Haley. “I beg your finest pardon????”
To some people, it was actually ‘terrifying.’
Another critic pointed out that the dad, who was mowing the lawn as his child sat on the lawn mower, didn’t seem to have a problem with it either. “What’s terrifying to me is both mom AND dad didn’t realize this was a bad idea?!” they said.
Some critics started sarcastically sharing parenting tips with the mom. “Do you know they aren’t allowed to play with fire either?” one person advised. “Very important.”
Another wrote: “FYI can’t leave babies in hot cars either 🙄 Hope this helps 🥰🥰🥰.”
But some praised the mom for owning up to her mistake.
Yes, the original video was “terrifying” to many parents — but some people defended the mom because she admitted that she was wrong and posted about it to raise awareness. “Thank you for spreading awareness at just how unsafe this is,” one person commented. “My husband is a paramedic & has run on too many kids hurt by lawnmowers.”
A second person wrote: “She literally admitted she was wrong, took accountability, and improved. And she’s still getting hate. She was braver than other moms who are wrong and never own up to it.”
