Making mum friends can be really tricky and sometimes, after having children, you don’t feel super sociable, and you need a little push in the right direction in order to break the ice with potential pals.
But one mum has taken to TikTok to reveal the hilarious reason she’s been having trouble making mum friends - and it’s got nothing to do with post-baby anxiety.
The woman from the US, who posts online as @jenifursue, explained how she thought people were avoiding her because of her tattoos, but it turns out it was all to do with her Fitbit.
She said in the now-viral TikTok : "I'm sitting at my kids' soccer game and the two mums that I sit with are talking about closing the rings on their Apple watches.
"I said, 'Oh, I don't really ever pay attention to that because I've realised how inconsistent the numbers on that are with the Fitbit on my ankle and so I go with that one because it's supposed to be more accurate.
"And they were like... 'That's a Fitbit?'"
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The other mums had made their own pre-judgements about what the purple ‘device’ was around her ankle, and she was blissfully unaware until that moment.
They responded and admitted that they thought the fitbit was an ankle monitor, which is an electronic device that courts use to keep track of offenders.
The devices ensure the person doesn’t travel outside of a boundary established by the court. The offender must wear these devices for a determined amount of time and cannot tamper with them.
The mum was horrified to learn the truth.
She continued: “Everyone thinks it's an ankle monitor.
"I thought the parents didn't talk to me because of all my tattoos, but really it was that they thought that I was on house arrest.
"I found out later that one time a cop showed up, he pulled up to the soccer field and he was just there to watch his kids play, but everyone thought he was there for me... so good times."
The TikTok has been viewed millions of times and people are agreeing this is a valuable insight into human behaviour.
One commented: "I’ll take ankle monitor mom over mom who gossips about ankle monitor mom."
Another added: "Put Fitbit on ankle to avoid human interaction... Got it! Thank you!"
"How do people confuse tiny Fitbits with clunky ankle monitors?" asked another. "And also, that’s 100 percent not a reason to not talk to someone."
One asked, "Are you still going to wear it?" while another was already logging onto Amazon: "That’s it. I’m getting an ankle monitor. Headphones aren’t working."
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