I turned my head for a second, then my three-year-old saved my baby's life

Grace wrote in the caption of the clip that's been viewed 25 million times: "When your three-year-old handles the hell out of being a big brother."

A three-year-old boy has been hailed a hero after he saved his baby brother from choking and the whole moment was captured on camera. 

The video, which has gained over 25 million views, shows mum Grace Watkins playing with her kids when the terrifying incident occurred. 

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The toddler intuitively springs into action

Posting to her account @gracewatkins5448, the mum-of-two shared the footage of the three of them dancing and playing around in their carport.

Grace's toddler, Silas, is spinning around with a hula hoop and giggling as his baby brother, Wiley, wanders into the frame.

Baby Wiley begins smiling at the camera as Silas comes over to dance with him.

The toddler glances over at him and notices something in his mouth and immediately springs into action.

Almost intuitively, he grabs Wiley's head and tilts it backwards and fishes a piece of plastic out of his mouth. 

It all happens so fast, even their mum didn't see it happen as she continued hula-hooping in the background.

She was only alerted to the incident when Silas turned around and showed her the piece of plastic.

Grace wrote in the caption: "When your three-year-old handles the hell out of being a big brother."

And in another video, she gives more context and says that it was a "piece of hard plastic" that was in her baby's mouth.

"It had chipped off one of their toys. We were having our little hula hoop sesh and I missed it, I missed it.

"But [my toddler] didn't, thank god. He's always been really attentive to his little brother. He was quick, he's an incredible child and he continues to amaze me daily, he's astonishing."

The piece of plastic was from a toy. Image: @gracewatkin5448

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"This is super impressive, what a hero"

Viewers were in awe of the toddler and how responsible and smart he was. 

"The way he just turned into an adult real quick," one viewer pointed out.

"That face went from 'I’m a child having fun' to 'I’m a mother of seven and know exactly what needs to be done.' That is a brilliant and brave kid,' another person added. 

"Absolutely extraordinary. His attention, maturity, [and] understanding of dangers and responsibility. That is an incredibly emotionally advanced little boy," a different viewer mentioned.

"At three!? The way he just dropped his stuff and immediately helped. An angel," someone else replied.

And more love came from this comment: "Wow! That was super impressive. What a hero."

"It kills me that people think I was being negligent"

But not everyone had something nice to say about the moment, with some taking issue with the fact the mum wasn't watching her kids.

In another video, Grace responded to one troll's comment that told her that Child Protection Services (CPS) would come to her house soon.

"If I brought attention to every single time my baby puts something in his mouth, which happens all the time, it would induce fear that we don't need.

"I feel like I've done my job in the sense of, I'm a single mum... my oldest is very, very bright and he grasps concepts better than others. And yes, I'm going to utilise him if I can. Why not have two conscious minds protecting this beautiful baby?

"It kills me that it could be taken that I was being negligent in any way, it's so on the contrary.

"I definitely wasn't unphased in the background."

This story was published in March 2023 and updated in August 2024. 

Originally published as I turned my head for a second, then my three-year-old saved my baby's life