The common comment that made my mum blood boil

Making 'concerned observations' about toddlers online doesn’t make you helpful. It makes you nasty.

If your first instinct is to critique the weight of a two-year-old, the problem isn’t the toddler. It’s you. 

Former Married at First Sight star Michael Brunelli shared an adorable photo of his son. It’s the kind of wholesome moment any parent would cherish. 

But instead of cooing over the toddler’s sweet smile or the father-son bond, one commenter decided to weigh in on something else entirely: his body.

“You might want to watch his weight. Look overweight to me,” they wrote.

As a mother of a boy the same age as Michael’s son, it made my blood absolutely boil. 

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Former MAFS contestant Michael Brunelli has slammed a troll for fat shaming his toddler. Image: Instagram/mbrunelli

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"Get help. Touch Grass" 

My child’s health is something I think about every single day.

 His meals, his growth, his energy levels. 

They’re all constantly on my radar. Just like any other parent.

What no parent needs is a stranger behind a screen offering unsolicited opinions about the shape of a child’s body. 

Michael clapped back in a way that I can only applaud:

"Imagine looking at a photo of a toddler and thinking the best course of action is to comment ‘better watch his weight’.”

“That’s not concern, that’s real life brain rot. If you’re wired to see a happy, healthy 2 year old and think ‘fat,’ you shouldn’t be around children.”

“Get help. Touch grass. Drink some water.”

“And keep your projections the f**k away from mine.”

Calling this out is important. Because this is how body shame starts.

And until our kids are old enough to internalise it themselves, we carry it for them.

We carry the guilt when they don’t fit the growth chart just right. We carry the comments from doctors, from relatives, from strangers on the internet and wonder if they’re right. 

We carry the pressure to serve perfectly balanced meals, to pack sugar-free snacks, to keep their bodies moving just enough, but never too much. 

I take it personally. Because until my son knows how to protect his own body from this kind of scrutiny, that job falls to me.

A few months ago, my nail artist told me a doctor had labelled her young daughter “obese.” I was honestly speechless.

I’ve met her daughter. She’s bright, bubbly, always smiling, always moving. She’s healthy. 

There is not a single world in which that little girl fits the word that was so casually thrown at her, like a label written in permanent marker.

The doctor’s words didn’t need to register in her understanding to land somewhere damaging. It landed on her mother. 

She told the doctor, gently at first, “We’re not discussing her weight.” But the comment came anyway, until the gentle reminder had to turn stern.

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Just say nothing

This isn’t just something that happens to reality stars.

This is something that happens to parents every day. 

This is the quiet, clinical way body shame creeps into childhood. One comment. One appointment. One misplaced opinion.

And the most heartbreaking part? We’ve normalised it.

We call it “concern.” We pretend it’s about health. We disguise judgment as helpfulness, and act shocked when parents push back. 

But commenting on a toddler’s body isn’t caring. It’s cruel.

It teaches parents to obsess. It teaches kids to question. It teaches all of us that bodies are something to fix, not celebrate.

So if you're still not sure what to say when you see a happy, thriving toddler in your feed?

Here’s a thought: say nothing.

Originally published as The common comment that made my mum blood boil