Young Mom Says Her Son’s School Is Profiling Her Because of Her Age and Tattoos

Although many millennials have had the privilege of looking like we’re Forever 21, there are some downsides to being a young-ish adult in society. When navigating parenting in your 20s or 30s, you could face biases from other “mature” parents due to your age and how you present to the world.

In December 2023, a TikTok mom shared that she had been exposed to how shady some people working at her son’s school could be. Fortunately, she found a community that sided with her after hearing her story.

Unless you came into the world as the perfect prototype of a man or woman (and even then), you’ve likely experienced being profiled at some point in your existence. Merriam-Webster defines profiling as “the act or process of extrapolating information about a person based on known traits or tendencies,” which can exist among people of various races, genders, sexual preferences, and creeds.

It turns out Mom World, like any subgroup, is guilty of profiling among its own. As Angelina (@angelinugh) explained on TikTok, she has felt profiled by the moms at her son’s school because she's one of the area's youngest moms.

While Angelina doesn’t share her name in the video, the single mom said she’s significantly younger than many other mothers. Angelina also noted that her clothing style, white highlights, and many tattoos may have caused her not to relate to the other parents as much.

Whatever set the other moms off about Angelina, they told her she wasn’t their cup of tea. As she put it, the teachers and staff members have had issues with her “from the jump,” dating back to her and her son touring the school. She said they had an attitude about her wanting a tour. Once her son became a student at the school, their problems intensified.

Angelina said she witnessed the profiling again when her son’s teachers freaked out when she parked on the left side of her pickup lane, as she was told it would be “the end of the world” if she parked on the right side. As instructed, Angelina then parked on the left side and said she was the only car in the lane that was told to move out of the way.

Eventually, Angelina figured out she could park in the right lane and did so moving forward. However, she says the issues continued when a staff member with a walkie-talkie ushered the parents to their children and greeted everyone except for Angelina. When Angelina’s turn came, she claimed she was welcomed with “Can you pull up?!”

Angelina continued adding more harsh examples of her being profiled by her son’s school. The mom also mentions that rather than fighting fire with fire, she opts to be positive and not match the staff’s energy.

Sadly, Angelina said she knew if she retaliated, she would "only be as good as they're expecting me to be,” which she didn’t feel as much. She also admitted the profiling makes her extra mindful of how she shows up for her son at school.

“I go out of my way, I'm early for drop off, I'm always early for pickup,” Angelina said. “I'm always one of the first five cars here. And I do a good job working my whole schedule around my son's schedule because that's what it takes as a single mom.”

Angelina’s predicament is a prime example of discrimination being alive and well in the school administration. There are countless stories of young moms, moms of color, and single moms who feel unseen by the people they’re expected to entrust with their children.

As someone with many beautiful, intelligent, fierce single mothers in my life, I think it’s unfair and deplorable to make assumptions about them or anyone else and use those assumptions in how you service them or, worse, care for their kids.

As one TikTok commenter pointed out, it’s prevalent that the adults who make assumptions about moms just trying to make it are doing the same to their children. Hopefully, that isn't the case at Angelina’s son’s school, although the mom influencer has plenty of support from other “new-age” moms if she ever needs to pull up on the school’s staff.

“It’s the tattoos... cause same,” one mom said. “Then I’m like, baby, I’m educated, THREE trades, certified. I like to decorate my body and your personality needs some.”

“It’s because you’re pretty,” another user said.

“Young single dad with full custody here,” a third commenter shared. “I 100 percent understand. I'm judged daily. My son can't have playdates because the other parents think I'm incapable.”