I take a photo of my son every day for this heartbreaking reason

A mother has opened up about ‘what it’s like to be a mom in America’ and how she fears for her son’s life every time she drops him off at school. 

Jaime Hyde, 31, from Nebraska, went viral on TikTok after detailing the precautions she takes to try to keep her first-grader safe in the event of a mass shooting, saying she is adding a ‘bulletproof insert’ to his back-to-school shopping list this year. 

‘I started taking a picture of my son every single day before school because I want to make sure that in the event of a school shooting, I know with certainty what he wore to school that day,’ she said at the start of her emotional video. 

The mother of one went on to share how she told her son to ignore his teacher’s directions and make sure he is always the last in line if the fire alarm is pulled. 

The mom shared that she takes a picture of her son every morning so that she knows exactly what he is wearing if there is ever a shooting at his school 

Hyde told her son to always be the last in line if the fire alarm is pulled in case there is an active shooter. She also won’t buy him light-up shoes because they will make it harder for him to hide 

‘Statistically, it is a higher chance that an active shooter is pulling the alarm to lure the children out than an actual fire,’ she explained. 

She also refuses to buy her son light-up shoes ‘because he can’t hide in a closet if the shoes are lighting up.

‘I’m adding a bulletproof insert to my kid’s backpack for his school supply list next year,’ she added, her voice trembling as she tried not to cry. ‘Meanwhile, people are more worried about the Second Amendment than my soon-to-be second grader.

‘And, yet still, every single day my son is expected to place his little hand over his heart and pledge allegiance to a country that doesn’t give a s**t if he’s safe at school.

‘If you’re still saying this is the best country on earth, I don’t know who you’re trying to fool at this point,’ she added in the caption. 

Hyde posted the video on March 31, just days after the mass shooting at The Covenant School, a private Christian grade school in Nashville, Tennessee.

The shooter, who was identified as 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, shot and killed six people — three adults and three nine-year-old students. Hale was killed by officers on the scene. 

The mom’s minute-long clip has been viewed 4.2 million times and received more than 22,000 comments from people all over the world. 

‘I’m adding a bulletproof insert to my kid’s backpack for his school supply list next year,’ she added, her voice trembling as she tried not to cry

The mom’s minute-long clip has been viewed 4.2 million times and received more than 22,000 comments from people all over the world

‘I was looking at bulletproof backpacks and I cried when I saw the unicorn and dinosaur prints. Why is this a thing that kids this young need these,’ one mom asked. 

‘I sign my son up for kindergarten next week for the fall term… I’ve been having panic attacks every night thinking about it. I’m soooo scared,’ someone else shared. 

‘I’m an Australian mum, and my heart breaks for you all,’ another added. ‘This is horrifying. I cannot imagine sending my kids to school with this to fear.’ 

There have been at least 164 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. 

Numbers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation data for 2019 show that the U.S.’s gun death rate is 22 times higher than the European Union and 23 times greater than Australia. 

Mass shootings are rare in other high-income countries where gun reform laws have been passed, but there were still commenters who insisted that guns are not the problem.  

Hyde filmed a follow-up video in response to a commenter who claimed ‘evil people who want to do harm will use bombs if they can’t use guns.’

Hyde filmed a follow-up video in response to those who claim gun legislation won’t help because people will just break the law. ‘Then why do we have any laws?’ she asked

‘People are always going to break the laws, but if we create regulations and laws around [guns], it will at least stop some of it,’ she explained  

‘They’re not using bombs. They are using guns,’ the mom hit back. ‘I’m really getting tired of people saying they’ll just do it. [If] people want to do something illegal they’ll just do it. Then why do we have any laws? 

‘Why are we banning abortions and drag shows and trans-affirming care and books [and] drugs? Why do we have laws at all?’ she continued. ‘People are always going to break the laws, but if we create regulations and laws around [guns], it will at least stop some of it.’

The mom noted that ‘your child is more likely in America to die of a firearm than anything else.’ 

Guns are the leading cause of death among American children under the age of 19, according to a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine last year.

For decades, vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death among the age group, but that changed in 2020. More than 4,300 children aged 1 to 19 years old died of a gun injury during the pandemic’s first year — a nearly 30 percent jump from 2019.

‘You know what we did when we realized our kids were more likely to die in a car accident than anything else? We made legislation,’ she explained. ‘Fifty years ago, your kid could ride in the front seat in a glorified shopping basket, and now we have five-point harnesses.’

Hyde added that the regulations for child car safety seats ‘get stricter and stricter every year as new technology and information becomes available.

‘I’m really getting tired of people saying, “We can’t make gun regulation because criminals will still break the law.” Okay, and? Then why do we have laws at all? Just some food for thought,’ she concluded.