Molly-Mae Hague says ‘this isn’t what I want’ as she admits daughter Bambi has bitten two children at nursery and shares worries over ‘gentle parenting’ method

Molly Mae Hague has shared her worries over how her two-year-old daughter Bambi has bitten two other children at nursery in a new YouTube video.

The influencer, 26, who speaks candidly about her parenting online, opened up about the experience with her fans in her latest post, as she declared: ‘It’s the complete opposite of what I want my child to be’.

She also said she was conflicted over taking her little girl for ice cream after the incident because she was concerned she would view it as a ‘reward for bad behaviour’.

Molly Mae told how her sister Zoe Rae, 28, thought it was a bad idea to give Bambi a treat but revealed she was unsure how to tackle the situation and had even asked AI assistant Chat GPT for advice.

The mother of one, who shares her daughter with partner Tommy Fury, admitted she wasn’t sure about the nursery’s ‘gentle parenting’ approach because she didn’t know if Bambi would know biting was wrong. 

Opening up on the ordeal, she said: ‘I got a call from nursery today to tell me that she has bitten another child at nursery. This isn’t the first time it’s happened.’

‘Basically at her nursery at the minute, there’s a bit of a biting pandemic going on and all of the children are biting one another.

‘I got a call the other day to tell me that she’d been bitten and she came home with a full-on bite mark on her arm.

‘I wasn’t even cross or upset about it because I knew it would be a matter of days before they’d call me to say she’d done the same thing back to another child.

‘I feel like especially in her nursery, they’re all seeing each other doing it and copying the behaviour basically.’

She added: ‘So I got a call from her key worker to say that she’d bitten again today and I just feel like is taking her for ice cream later on, rewarding her and doing something nice, when she’s done something at nursery that’s really not good?

‘But equally, I don’t even know if I should bring attention to it. When it happened the other week, I decided to go with the method of not bringing attention to it at all.

‘So not talking about it, because I think they do it because maybe they want a reaction, or she wants a rise, or she wants us to talk about it.

‘So I didn’t talk about it at all, but that method has clearly not worked because she’s gone into nursery and done it again today so even with no reaction, it’s still happening.

‘She’s getting the reaction she wants…if we’re all talking about it.’

Later on in the video, Molly Mae shared an update on the incident and revealed Zoe had said she doesn’t think they should be taking Bambi for ice cream.

Explaining the development, Molly Mae said: ‘She’s [Bambi] bit another child at nursery today. I know that’s sad to come on here and admit. A lot of parents probably wouldn’t want me admit that their child had done that.

‘But the only reason I feel slightly better about it is because I had a call last week saying that Bambi had been bitten and all the children seem to be biting one another a the moment.

‘One of my good friends her daughter is in the same class and her daughter has been bitten like every day this week it’s really really sad, it’s horrible.

‘But equally the children in her room at the moment are at an age where trying to explain to them… 

‘It’s confusing because if we talk to her about it when we put her in the car, are we giving her the attention that she wants from the biting. 

‘But if I was listening to this video right now I’d be thinking no you need to tell her it’s not okay. Because it’s not okay.

‘It’s so embarrassing for me because it’s the complete opposite of what I want my child to be. All I want her to be in this life is kind, gentle, caring, lovely and just like so lovely to the people around her. That’s what I want her to be to her core.

‘And her biting is just so far removed from who I want her to be. Equally she is two and a half and she is testing boundaries. Also it’s hard because at their nursery their way of disciplining is that they don’t really discipline.

‘They have very much a gentle parenting approach on the accident report form that I got about the bite. They were like we’ve told her that her mouth is for chewing and for eating her food, for biting down on food and nothing else.

‘I think that she knows the environment she’s in she is not going to get told off, there’s not going to be an issue when she does bite. She’s not going to have anything taken off of her, or put on a naughty step – or really be told no.

‘But then is that the right approach? Because clearly whatever is going on now isn’t working because it is the second time that it has happened.

‘So I don’t know, I’m a bit stuck on this one. Probably going to get some comments on… I don’t know what the right thing is to do’.

‘I asked Chat GPT for some advice, I know people will probably have something to say about this because it’s AI and controversial.’

‘Controversial is my middle name at the moment. But I got some really incredible advice. So I explained the full situation and her age etc. Told the what we’re struggling with and how to discipline.’

Molly Mae explained the advice was not to punish Bambi twice because she will be unable to link the negative repercussions in the afternoon to the incident which took place in the morning.

The rules of the nursery meant that Molly Mae wasn’t told who the child was that Bambi had bitten, but she worked out it was a close friend of her child and called her mother to apologise, which she said made her ‘feel much better’.

Many took to the comments section of the video to share their thoughts on the situation and complimented Molly Mae on her ‘realness and relatability’.

‘Don’t worry about the biting. There are far worst things that could be happening. It’s just a phase. Like you said she’s testing boundaries. I wouldn’t give her a second thought. It has nothing to do with you as a parent. I feel parents get caught up in what others are going to think of them but at the end of the day what you think is all that matters’;

‘As a fellow mama to littles, thank you for being so honest and relatable. You are the only YouTuber I can relate to on so many levels especially your thoughts on parenting! Thank you for being real’;

;As someone born in 1994, I find the gentle parenting trend both fascinating and at times, perplexing. While I appreciate the emphasis on empathy and positive reinforcement, I sometimes wonder where the line is drawn between nurturing and permissiveness. For example, is it truly harmful to give a child a firm but respectful reprimand when they’ve done something wrong? I’m not referring to harsh punishment or yelling either’;

‘Just clear, constructive guidance to help them understand why certain actions are unacceptable. Without any form of correction or discussion about consequences, how do children learn accountability and self discipline? Anyway you’re doing your best Molly! Keep your head up’;

‘Molly I love your open honesty with parenting it makes me feel like I’m not the only one struggling at times so thank you’;

‘Your realness surrounding motherhood and parenting is so comforting’;

‘Sorry to hear about the biting situation it’s not easy. Can be very upsetting. I recommend reading stories with Bambi about being kind and gentle. You could say to her to remember teeth are for biting our food not our friends. Demonstrating what she could do instead when she’s angry could help too!’