Imagine being at lunch, or in any public space, only to have someone come and hover a bit too close for comfort. That is exactly what happened to Mari, a Los Angeles-based author, nurse, and TikToker. While at a Costco, she was grabbing pizza and soft serve with her children when she noticed a man standing behind her. While she chose to ignore it, the video she uploaded to TikTok captured the moment her daughter chose not to.
The post is captioned, “My 3-Year-Old called out a creep at Costco/ Real Time spiritual protection.” It starts with Mari chatting with her daughter, Phoenix, who is babbling happily over her soft serve. As they are joking and laughing, the mood shifts quickly when she spots a man hovering behind her. Now, it should be noted that the man doesn’t do anything. Mari’s instincts kick in. Her smile dies, and she looks uncomfortable, noting on-screen, “Peeped it, Ho IS U Coo?” She just ignores him.
Phoenix, who is off-camera at this moment, just calls the man out with all the bluntness of a toddler. “Why is that man standing next to us cart?” Mari tries to calm her down, saying, “He just stood in there eating his ice cream.” There is silence for a second and then Phoenix loudly exclaims, “What the fork?” It shocks Mari, who immediately laughs and tells the camera, “She definitely enforces her boundary. Yeah! She protects her energetic circle.”
In a surprising move, the man immediately walks away.
Mari pauses when she sees that in her camera, and laughs again. In amazement, she states, “She made him move. Divine protection. Energy. You can’t be too close to our energy. What are you talking about? That’s funny.” For the rest of the video, Phoenix keeps babbling and laughing. She then dances with joy when she bites into her pizza, and exclaims, “Thank you, mommy!” This prompts Mari’s son to stop what he is doing and thank her too, calling her ‘mom.’
Instantaneously, Phoenix echoes him. Mari then tells her, “Aiden is the only one that called me Mom. You call me Mommy.” So Phoenix defiantly exclaims, “Thank you, Mom.” Mari tells her, laughing, that Phoenix can only call her “Ma or Mommy.” Phoenix claims, “No, I don’t want to say Mommy, I want to say Mom.” She then keeps babbling and giggling till Mari signs off from the video.
@justmari35 When your 3-year-old sees the spirit before you even say a word… At 0:44 I felt the vibe shift. By 1:03, Phoenix called him out. At 1:20, he vanished. Let this be your reminder: 🌀 Energy doesn’t lie. 🌀 Our children see what most ignore. 🌀 I am divinely protected. Covered. Watched. Shielded. No weapon, seen or unseen, shall prosper. We were just doing a Costco haul & dinner… and Spirit said, “Pay attention.” Trust the vibes. Trust your kids. Trust your guides. Asé to divine protection, always. 💜✨ #fypシ #humantrafficking #safetyfirst #divineprotection #besafe
♬ original sound – Just_Mari318 🦂👑💋
The community immediately applauded Phoenix for calling out something that made her uncomfortable. One user commented, “I always tell my child to say it out loud. If someone is staring at you & I don’t seem to notice say it out loud. Make them uncomfortable.” Others praised Mari for enabling and validating her daughter, as one viewer stated, “YES! Thank you for empowering your daughter 🖤 It’s great to see.”
Many were awed and amused. One wrote, “ma’am im. glad your daughter protect you.” Another TikToker noted, “I heard “with a FORK?” Either way, lil sis got him right on outta there.” A third summarized their view on it, saying, “she said : ‘go eat your ice cream somewhere else buddy’.”
This kind of situation highlights why teaching kids about boundaries is so vital. According to the team at Hey Sigmund, teaching children to set boundaries is essentially about helping them understand that they are in charge of their own personal “forcefield.”
The article notes the importance of teaching children what a boundary means: “an invisible line between what is you and what is not you.” Hey Sigmund emphasizes that we should teach our kids that they are the boss of their own space. If someone is doing or saying things that feel wrong, they have every right to put their forcefield up. In a recent TikTok video, one mom advised that when faced with entitled strangers who ignore boundaries, “Lie!”
It is not just about being polite; it is about respecting yourself first. As the article notes, “You’re the boss and you’ll always be the boss.” In understanding that, children can protect themselves from people who make them feel uncomfortable. One Redditor was recently concerned when his wife punched a woman who picked up his daughter, but the community was quick to tell him that his wife was just protecting the girl’s boundaries.
They further note that It is also important to validate what our kids are feeling. When they say something feels off, they are usually right. By giving them the permission to be vocal, like Phoenix was at Costco, we help them develop the skills to protect themselves throughout their lives.
As one commenter on Mari’s video put it, “I love that! We should always teach our daughters to be loud & brave!”
