Sweet 14-month-old baby kept hugging his sad mom all night and refused to stop until she felt better

Motherhood is an experience defined by the good and bad moments a woman goes through after childbirth. While it can be intense and difficult to navigate, the sweet and tender moments are what make it worthwhile. A new mom, Taylor (@taysue), was having a hard day when something beautiful happened. She quietly cried beside her toddler son, who was eating his dinner, not expecting him to notice or comprehend the situation. But the 14-month-old baby’s empathy and concern for his mother left her surprised while the internet crumbled watching the tender moment unfold. 

Taylor moved out of the frame to shed tears with her face in her hands. The action suddenly caught the toddler’s attention, who sharply turned towards his crying mom and stared at her intently. After a brief pause, the baby boy tried to console his mother with little pokes with his fingers. Watching the tears, he leaned in for a wobbly hug for his mother. “I kept telling him I was ok, and he kept hugging me,” the mom wrote, before admitting that is exactly what she needed. Taylor kissed her son’s head, and the mother and son embraced, melting millions of hearts on the internet.

“I was having a minute while my toddler was eating dinner, and he kept hugging me, so I turned on the camera. Want to remember his sweet heart from the start,” the mom penned in the caption. The video received 4.4 million likes and thousands of comments. People talked about the baby’s empathy and emotional intelligence even at a young age. “The genuine concern on his face,” wrote @desarayec, while @haileybotelhoo expressed, “They always somehow know exactly what we need.” “Oh, he is an empath,” pointed out @brewermamaa. Similarly, @sydneyht hinted, “He was watching you so intently. You’re raising a sweet baby now.” "Awww, this warms my heart. He's so sweet," marked @caitlinbcarpenter. 

“Poor baby, he was feeling your sadness and pain,” said @elainecruzz1. Most of the viewers were stunned by the baby’s awareness of his mother’s emotions and his reaction to her sadness. There is no specific age for a child to develop empathy. While research suggested that it starts developing by 14 months old, some kids may not be able to show or comprehend sensitive moments until a certain age, per the National Library of Medicine. But Taylor’s son here showed surprising signs of empathy and care for his mama at only 14 months.

A study in The Child Development Journal shows that children at that age recognize distress and help others even when it does not benefit them– a pure act of kindness. However, such values are also learned through the social environment in the child’s home and parental behavior. Empathy may occur naturally in some babies, while others may have to be taught through everyday actions. Nevertheless, it goes a long way into adulthood and plays a significant role in life. 

You can follow @taysue on TikTok for more videos.