Martha Kalifatidis has responded to criticism from social media users who accused her of "yelling" at her three-year-old son, Lucius. The reality television personality shared a video addressing the backlash, directed at what she called "perfect parents on the internet."
Kalifatidis, 38, had appeared in a sponsored TikTok video promoting an electrolyte drink alongside her two young children. During the clip, her toddler son Lucius became disruptive, prompting Kalifatidis to raise her voice.
"Stop screaming in her face! Get off the stool and get out of the kitchen," Kalifatidis told Lucius when he began yelling in the direction of his five-month-old sister, Sunday. Her son responded by shouting "no" and leaving the room.
Following the incident, Kalifatidis shared a vlog-style video. "Oh, my God, hi! If it isn't all the perfect parents on the internet," she began in the clip, holding her infant daughter. "Look at all these perfect parents just sitting on their phones scrolling away. Scrolling and watching and judging." In a caption accompanying the video, she added, "Sorry I didn't realise I was amongst all these perfect parents and scholars."
Kalifatidis also shared her struggles with parenting, stating, "Honestly, the simplest tasks take two hours. Breakfast... two hours! I'm a psycho... I know I need to be more patient, how does anyone get anything done with kids?"
The online reaction to the initial video was divided. Some users expressed concern, with one commenting, "Stop screaming in his face!" and another stating, "I could never yell at a toddler for trying to interact with his little sister. They're learning how to interact, by yelling at him you're not teaching him anything, you're just shutting him down." Another user remarked, "You were a bit harsh with how you spoke."
Conversely, others offered support, with one commenter writing, "Parenting is hard. Not one of us is perfect." Another added, "Don't you all act like you don't lose some patience here with a toddler AND a newborn. Chill."
Kalifatidis shares her children with fiancé Michael Brunelli. She has previously spoken about the challenges of her first pregnancy with Lucius, during which she suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition causing severe nausea and vomiting that led to hospitalisation. She was largely absent from social media for months during that pregnancy due to her illness.