A mom of three has been slammed online for letting her 10-year-old daughter wear acrylic nails.
Whitney Ainscough, 30, recently issued a warning on TikTok against school children wearing fake nails after her daughter, Cora's became infected. However, other users have been left scratching their heads as they wonder why she was ever allowed them in the first place. Fake Press On Nails
Ainscough told Newsweek: "I didn't want her to get them done but she kept begging me so I gave into peer pressure. Unfortunately, she has now learned her lesson and never wants her nails done again."
During the viral TikTok shared to @itsmebadmom, Cora's nail can be seen hanging on by a thread after she accidentally slammed her finger in a door. As a result of this, the false nail caused her natural nail to lift off the bed and become infected.
The former pharmacy dispenser from Yorkshire, England, told Newsweek she didn't expect her daughter to get "ridiculously long" nails in the salon.
Over 700 TikTok users have commented on the video with 508,700 views at the time of writing. Many of them have expressed their concerns about a girl Cora's age getting acrylics.
"She usually wears stick-on nails but she wanted acrylic for her prom. She wouldn't stop asking me so eventually I said yes and paid £40 ($50) for them," Ainscough said. "I have faced a lot of backlash online from strangers. They've said I am supposed to be the parent and shouldn't have let her have them done.
"It isn't like she has asked me for a cigarette, and I gave her one," she said. "I do what I want with my kids, other people should focus on their own parenting. The nail technician didn't say anything so I didn't see the problem."
In 2018, Dr. Nora Nugent, a plastic surgeon at Queen Victoria Hospital in West Sussex, warned British parents about allowing their children to get acrylics. She said that some children under the age of 12 required surgery to repair their damaged nail beds.
Nugent said: "We would advise children to use nail varnish in place of artificial nails—it is much safer, can be just as fun and colorful, and save them from potentially having an operation."
Cora has now learned that false nails aren't all that they are cracked up to be as she was left in pain following the incident.
"She was crying for about three hours after trapping her nail in the door, now she never wants nails again," Ainscough said. "It sounds cruel but it was a bit of a 'told you so' moment as I didn't want her to get them done and especially not that long."
As for her name on social media, Ainsough told Newsweek that she opted for "bad mom" to gain more followers.
"I'm not a bad mom, I am a good mom; my daughter wanted something so I gave it to her," she said. "I purposely picked that name as I started the page as a bit of a joke. But now I have managed to make a career out of it."
Initially, Ainscough created videos of dirty packed lunches. "You see a lot of rich parents with pristine packed lunches showing off everything they have so I did the opposite and made disgusting packed lunches," she said. "My kids never used to eat the lunches—it was just part of the content creation fun."
So far, the controversial video has racked up hundreds of comments. One TikTok user questioned: "Why would anyone even put acrylic nails on a child?"
Another person commented: "10 ??? Yes absolutely not."
"My daughter is 15 and every year since year 7 she's asked for summer holidays and every year she gets a no," said another parent.
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