Mother sparks debate after feeding her six-month-old child a bloody steak

A mum has sparked a furious debate after feeding her six-month-old child a "bloody" steak for dinner.

In a viral clip that racked almost 200,000 views, TikTok user Katie (@mrskatieharley) shared footage of her six-month-old baby Eliza eating a hearty piece of steak.

"People [love] giving parenting advice to people who didn't ask," Katie captioned the clip, acknowledging the polarised views in the comments.

Some fellow Tiktok users slammed the mum, saying the meal choice was "not okay at all."

"Undercooked meat for an infant?" Another critically quizzed, "How is that safe?"

"Omg, it's still bleeding," a third wrote.

Surprisingly, however, a 2020 study by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association discovered that "beef is an important complementary food for infants and toddlers during the first few years of life when rapid growth and development occur."

They added that "by six months of age, [a baby's] iron stores are depleted, and breastmilk alone can no longer meet all of the infant's nutrient requirements," such as iron, zinc and vitamin B.

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Other TikTokers jumped to the mum's defence, saying: "That's one lucky baby. her momma knows best!"

"Finally, another mom that does this," another said. "My baby was underweight at four months old and refused baby food, and her doctor told me to try regular food."

"Everyone in the comments section acting like they came over to your house with a meat thermometer," a third joked.

Katie shut down critics with a string of hilarious response videos. One of the clips joked, "When the vegans start commenting on my video of feeding my daughter steak," with the caption: "FeEding yOur ChILd sTeAK iS cHild AbUse".

Another poked fun at the media attention using the TikTok audio: "She's definitely going to be president now."

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