St. Louis County mother goes viral on TikTok for bringing son to job interview | St. Louis Information Headlines

By Last updated Jun 29, 2021

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Missouri (KMOV.com) – A St. Louis County mother’s TikTok video is now the focus of new talks about childcare access.

Adapted and with a résumé in hand, the 1-year-old Mylo Mundwiller attended her interview with his mother, the 38-year-old Maggie Mundwiller, last Wednesday. Mundwiller documented the whole trip with a compilation of videos on TikTok.

“I knew people would relate to it; I just didn’t know exactly how many, ”said Mundwiller. “Now I think we are likely [at] almost up to 8 million views, which is insane and great. “

Six weeks after Mylo was born, Mundwiller says she was fired from her job. Since then, during the pandemic, she has struggled to find work while caring for her newborn.

“Many people cannot pay for childcare when they are unemployed, even if one parent is employed,” she said. “You have so many other bills to pay.”

Mundwiller recently interviewed for a new position, but then got a last minute call for a second interview. At the time, her husband, older son, and the rest of her family were not available to see Mylo while she was attending. She thought she would have to forego the interview opportunity.

“I was just being honest and told them I couldn’t get childcare, so I might have to schedule them for another time. Their answer was immediate: we are child-friendly. So I’ll just let her know, okay, we’ll be there in a couple of hours and Mylo is ready for the interview. “

Mylo’s résumé, she said, was an extra note.

“Hopefully leave a good impression and light up a situation that is a little different from what we are used to,” she said.

According to a January 2021 study by Pew Research, about half of working parents with children under 12 said childcare responsibilities were difficult to manage during the pandemic. Working women also reduced their working hours more often than men and did not feel that they would give 100 percent at work.

Mundwiller says this video sheds light on the struggles that families like her have faced.

“It feels exciting, it feels scary. It feels wonderful to be able to give people a voice, ”said Mundwiller. “Hopefully employers everywhere will start listening to this conversation and reading the comments.”

All over their TikTok, the comments are now urging more employers to normalize kid-friendly offices or offer access to childcare.

“It’s just so important to continue that dynamic to talk about, hopefully getting better as a country,” said Mundwiller.

Mundwiller says she was offered the job and plans to post Tik Tok updates about it, highlighting her journey as a working mom.

“You can tell that there are so many people who relate to it and there was no voice for them, and I feel like there is finally a voice for people who struggle just like me,” she said.