From Taimur to Ziva: When celebrity kids take the stage

Well, going viral is just the beginning. Be it Beyonce’s Blue Ivy or Serena Williams’ Alexis, to our very own headline makers such as Saifeena’s Taimur and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Ziva — these tiny toddlers capture the limelight wherever they are at. So much so, that now most people want to click a picture with these babies rather than their famous parents.

Take the case of three-year-old Ziva, the daughter of our Chennai Super Kings captain. While earlier, most cricketers coveted a picture with Dhoni, now it is Ziva who has clearly usurped her father when it comes to garnering likes and comments. Actor Sushant Singh Rajput and cricketers such as Dwayne Bravo, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are just some of the well-known names to have uploaded a picture with Ziva, and not surprisingly, these are some of their most popular posts. 

Similarly, one-and-half year old Taimur Ali Khan is an instant hit wherever he goes, so much so that the star baby sometimes gets more attention than Kareena Kapoor Khan.

“Social media has come a long way, with our entire family following us on it these days. I absolutely see no harm in celebrities posting pictures of their babies or posing with their friends’ babies. I love watching baby Luna on Chrissy Teigen’s insta posts. And I hunt for pictures of Taimur on Instagram. He’s adorable,” said Pavitra Krishnaswamy, a social media influencer. Earlier this year, Rajinikanth’s little grandson, Ved Krishna, set the internet alight with pictures from his third birthday party. 

Apparently, the Superstar had planned his USA return schedule to ensure he would be present for the occasion. Ved, Soundarya Rajinikanth’s son, also had other family members participating in the celebrations. 

There, however, are some who take the trend too far, by posting too many pictures of their kid. Worse, there are adults who annoy other parents for pictures with the latter’s baby constantly. Amrita Mani, who became a new mommy to her son Arav just three months ago, was excited to post her child’s photos online for the first time. until she realised many of her friends had already uploaded Arav’s pictures months ago. “I was so incredibly annoyed to see that. I was off social media for a bit as I was busy with recovering from my pregnancy. The minute I came back on, I was greeted with hundreds of messages and posts about my baby from friends who had visited home, clicked selfies and left. In fact, one particular college classmate of mine had uploaded close to 30 photos - and she isn’t even that close to me. I thought that was done in extremely bad taste, just for her to get some likes,” she said.

Psychologist Mini Rao said, “If you need to use your kids to get likes then you need some serious psychological help. And for others using their friends’ babies — if getting likes is your only aim in life — you need to take up another hobby.”

“Self actualisation doesn’t from projecting your kids online. Besides, this trend also gives place for cyber crime, where perverts take your kids’ pics and videos and use them for their own purposes,” she added.