Brooke Lipps, @adayinaeats, watched her baby sit up for the first time—from behind a baby monitor on her desk at the office. The 25-year-old sales development representative shared her emotional response in a July 22, 2025, video that sparked a conversation about paid parental leave on TikTok.
Featured VideoIn the video, Lipps is seen crying at her desk behind the caption, “Me at work because I’m watching my baby sit up for the first time through the monitor.”
The U.S. federal government does not guarantee paid parental leave, or even paid maternity leave, for people who have recently given birth. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to employees of employers who meet specified criteria.
AdvertisementApproximately half of all parents are not eligible for FMLA leave, and working mothers aged 18 to 34 have a lower eligibility rate than other age groups. Many people are excluded from FMLA benefits because they work for small companies that employ fewer than 50 people. Others aren’t eligible for paid, job-protected leave because they don’t have sufficient hours or job tenure.
And, shocker—paid parental leave is not mandated by the state of Texas, where Lipps works. Because individual employers can opt to offer the benefit, or not, social pressure has the potential to influence company decisions about participating in family benefits.
“One year of paid federal maternity leave NEEDS to be the standard. I’m glad women are getting louder about this, it’s a huge issue.”
Advertisement‘Being a working mom is so much harder than I could’ve imagined.’
Lipps’ video has nearly 700 thousand views and over 5 thousand comments. The young mom wrote, “Being a working mom is so much harder than I could’ve imagined. Missing the milestones just breaks me 💔.”
Commenters imagined a more family-friendly work-life balance and considered adjustments to the traditional 9-5 and outdated gender roles.
@adayinaeats Being a working mom is so much harder than I could’ve imagined. Missing the milestones just breaks me 💔 #workingmom #babygirl #youngmom #corporatemom #motherhood ♬ som original – 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙚★Advertisement
“It’s killing me that everyone’s speed running misogyny and right wing talking points in the comments but not thinking to consider better maternity leave??? like hello????”
“All of this when a lot of these jobs can literally be done from home and probably in a shorter time frame than 8 hours.”
Advertisement“She doesn’t need advice to quit! We need women in universities in the workforce in positions of authority and power. That being said, paid maternity leave until your baby is kindergarten age should be a given.”
The rest of the world averages 29 weeks of paid maternity leave. The U.S. offers 0.
Lipps’ video was crossposted to X, where @collectdust shared an infographic from the New York Times that depicted the U.S. as one of the 7 countries worldwide that do not guarantee paid maternity leave.
AdvertisementThese angels hit the right-wing talking point we know and love.
“Ladies: Marry a provider husband so you can raise your kids.”
Advertisement“Proof that marrying a good provider man is a flex. Being a girl boss isn’t.”
“Not having kids unless I can stay home and have a provider husband 🙏.”
AdvertisementPraying for you, Tara Louise.
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