Dad goes for dinner with baby, unprepared for what restaurant staff do next

A video of a baby stealing the hearts of restaurant workers in Bali has gone viral on TikTok.

The clip was posted by Kosta Genaris (@kostagenaris), a 31-year-old marketing manager, who captured the footage in November last year, when his son Theo was 11 months old, he told Newsweek. It has amassed 1.5 million views since it was posted on November 25.

A note overlaid on the clip reads: “POV [point of view] you’re going to a restaurant in Bali and the staff steal your baby while you enjoy dinner.” The footage shows a baby being held, coddled and adored by workers at different venues.

“It was our first holiday since he was born,” Genaris said, noting that the footage was taken at various restaurants, from traditional to more modern places. “I think they were all along the strip in Nisa Dua [a resort area in the southern part of Bali],” he recalled. “I think it’s just part of their culture to be so accommodating. They were always respectful and genuinely wanted to spend time with him. He’s drawn to positive energy, so he was more than happy to go along and explore.”

The viral post comes as just under half (46 percent) of Americans said they were “very likely” to take a family trip, with around a third (31 percent) interested in multi-generational travel, which includes parents, in-laws and children, according to a 2024 U.S. travel trends survey conducted by Skift.

In a 2023 survey by the Family Travel Association, in which respondents were asked to identify areas where they want the travel industry to improve on how well it serves traveling families, the commonly raised concerns included the high cost of family travel, citing a desire for lower-cost options and discounts, as well as the need to improve the quality and level of service across the industry.

‘All Fussed Over Him’

Viewers on TikTok were delighted by the scene in the viral clip.

User woohoo said: “these are the women who know how important having a village is when raising a child.”

Ivan_D said: “I love the way they all fussed over him” and tumatauenga86 noted there are “aunties everywhere.”

Kim Harkins said: “They’re fighting over him too,” and BridgieBaby noted: “I love how the lady holding the baby won’t share him!”

Another user, Butters, no!, wrote: “That’s Bali’s baby now,” and Alex said: “Why isn’t it everywhere like this.”

Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via [email protected] and your story could be featured on Newsweek.