Mom was out in traffic with 3-year-old and baby—her toddler’s gesture for the baby warmed her heart
Many people might turn their moments of struggle into empathy and compassion for other people. A mom saw her autistic 3-year-old show that kind of compassion for her baby brother as they stood at a spot with loud traffic noise. The woman, Bekah Cook, who goes by @bekahzneurolife on Instagram, noticed that her daughter, Zali, was covering the baby, Ziggy's, ears to safeguard him from the loud traffic noise. The mom also realized something deeper and more meaningful about the situation and shared it with the platform. The video received over 2.3 million views.
In the clip, the little girl was covering her baby brother's ears, so the traffic noise wouldn't bother him. "I hate the noise," Zali told her mom. "To the world, it looked like she was helping him...but really, my autistic daughter was revealing the depth of her own silent struggle," the text overlay of the video read. The caption called Zali's sensitivity a gift that allowed her to show empathy to other people. "In shielding him, she showed me something beautiful — that her sensitivity isn't just a struggle, it's a gift." She added, "She's learning to turn her own challenges into compassion, one quiet moment at a time. She hasn't been told to do this; it was her instinct. I've never met such a caring child."
The family had been waiting for a shop to open, but the mom decided to leave because the noise was too much for her daughter. "We left right after this moment, as it was too much for her. We were trying to wait for a shop to open." The girl also shares a unique bond with her brother, per Newsweek. "Even at just 3 years old, Zali can read Ziggy's body language with remarkable accuracy. She'll sing his favorite song or give him his dummy when he's upset—all without being asked," Bekah told the outlet. "Instead of focusing on her own discomfort, Zali instinctively sought to protect her baby brother."
People expressed their thoughts on the meaningful moment between the siblings in the comments section of the video. @that_larry_johnson wrote, "I did this for my younger brother, too. Protected him from things I struggled with, but it was likely he could be suffering in silence, too, from sensory issues he couldn't articulate. I see myself in this little girl." @raediation_44 commented, "This is actually the cutest thing in the world. I'm gonna cry. The fact that in her mind she went, 'This noise sucks, my baby sibling has to hear it too, I am going to shield their ears so they don't have to hear it.' That's adorable."
@mimi_themagicmaker remarked, "I was at my 5-year-old's concert recital. It went on for ages! I covered my ears and started low humming to stim during the final intermission because it was so loud! I then thought if I’m stimming to calm myself from the noise, I wonder how my baby is doing. I went to the side stage and there she was, bawling her little eyes out. Overstimulated by the noise. I covered her ears and we hummed together and they let me hold her for their last song." The mom often shares aspects of Zali's life as a neurodivergent child on her page. In one video, she shared how a teddy bear with her grandpa's ashes and grandma's hair comforted the girl while learning.
You can follow Bekah Cook (@bekahzneurolife) on Instagram for more lifestyle content.
More on Amplify
She accidentally found her late brother’s journal—an entry about 'my baby sister' left her shattered
9-year-old who always wanted a baby brother had the purest reaction on welcoming foster infant