Mom Claps Back After Being Judged For Letting 7-Year-Old Ride A Motorcycle

Mom responds when her parenting choices are judged by the internet

When a local motorcycle club shared a photo of Mallory Torres’ 7-year-old daughter Mackenzie riding on the back of a motorcycle on their Facebook page, the image quickly went viral.

Most people were applauding the parents for letting their little girl be brave, but some — not so much.

“Everybody was commenting on the picture about how cool it was and that the little girl was brave, but then a couple of negative comments started. It started with, ‘I wouldn’t do this with my child,’ and went to, ‘You should be in jail. You’re a bad parent,'” Torres told Today Parents. “The only thing I wanted was to get my feelings out there, so I wrote my own post about the photo.”

She certainly did. She wanted to respond to the judgment… so she did it with some of her own.

“This is my 7 year old daughter riding home from school on a motorcycle. Yes. She’s 7, and she’s on a motorcycle. “Why?” Some of you may ask… Because I love my daughter,” Torres writes. “That’s right… I LOVE MY DAUGHTER and she loves to ride, so I allow her to ride on the back of a motorcycle in full gear with my boyfriend who has 20+ years of experience.”

There are very many decisions we make as parents that put our kids in danger. Cars are dangerous, and you probably can’t even count the number of times you’ve seen people speeding around like jerks with their kids in the car. But you also can’t be too surprised when someone isn’t comfortable with the idea that the ability of a 7-year-old to hold on is the only thing keeping her from falling into traffic. That’s a terrifying concept. Still, they live in Texas, and in Texas this is perfectly legal. A child only has to be 5 years old to legally be a passenger on a motorcycle.

“This was not her first time, she has had experience. I followed closely behind on her first ride, and I as a mother, felt that she did great and that she could handle it again,” Torres explains. “She also wants a bike of her own which is why we AS PARENTS feel the need to give her as much passenger riding experience as possible before she is allowed to ride on her own.” This is clearly a motorcycle riding family. This is their normal, even though many may not agree with it.

“Don’t call us bad parents for enjoying putting a smile on our kids face every now and then with a motorcycle ride home after school. I WILL continue to allow my daughter to ride if she wants to,” Torres insists. “I WILL continue to be the best parent I can be. I WILL continue to keep my kids happy and pray that they are safe whether it be at school, at home, at a friend’s house, on the basketball court, or on a motorcycle.” She makes a great point. We don’t have to agree with the parenting choices of others. And calling someone a “bad parent” on the internet probably changed their choices approximately zero times.

But for a parent trying to explain why you shouldn’t judge her parenting choices, Torres sure gets pretty judgy herself. “We’ve been called “bad parents” for allowing her to ride. Bad parents??? Hahahaha. NO… we are both stay at home parents that run a home based business together which means that WE raise or children. Not sitters or daycare… we do not leave them in the care of strangers and RARELY even leave them in the care of a babysitter for a few hours. WE ARE GREAT PARENTS.”

Okay, we get it – daycare and babysitting equals “bad” to you apparently. But you clearly get where the judgment comes from too, since you’re doing it yourself. Conclusion? It’s impossible not to vent your opinions about parenting, no matter how chill you think you are. So don’t be surprised when a 7-year-old on a motorcycle elicits a few negative comments.

The end.