A photo of a baby wearing an adult-sized face mask on a flight has sparked a fierce online debate for a variety of reasons.
The adorable tot was photographed on an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Wellington on July 1 wearing an adult-sized mask across their entire face, with holes cut out for both eyes.
Despite the photo taking the internet by storm, the man who snapped the photo says that the negative reaction is misplaced - and quite frankly, undeserved.
Jandre Opperman, took to share the photo on Instagram, and told the NZ Herald it was a "super-sweet interaction".
"The baby was full of joy, jumping around and giggling away. It made the wait to get off the plane a bit more entertaining," he added.
Although Jandre hoped the cuteness of the little one would be the reason it spread like wildfire on social media, it instead began to attract negative comments.
Some who saw the snap were immediately left shocked, saying the masking of the baby was unsafe and indicative of an over-reaction towards mask-wearing.
Comments flooded the traveler's social media account from those who said the image was "so incredibly sad" and showed "child abuse".
One wrote: "If I saw this on a flight I'd remove the mask from her myself."
Another noted: "Babies need air to develop."
While a third wrote that it is: "dangerous to cover their breathing holes like this".
However, Jandre ignored the comments and took to defend the mum.
Disagreeing, he said that the mask itself wasn't tight and the mum was attentive to the child - ensuring its wellbeing throughout the whole flight.
He said: "I think it was a mix of having a laugh, and trying her best to protect her child with the equipment available to her."
And other commenters agreed with him, joking that the baby's raised fist was just, "to assure you there's enough holes and gaps in the mask to breathe properly and don't be a Karen and complain about a picture on Facebook."
Another wrote: "Must be training as a superhero lol! The world is not yet ready for SuperBaby."
While a third told told the negative commenters to, "relax your undies".
