By Daniella GrayShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA Maryland mom is being praised online after setting a boundary with her young son during one of the most essential parts of her day: her morning workout.
Morgan, a homeschooling mom of four—Brodi, 14, Jax, 8, Benji, 6, and August, 2—had shifted her usual 6 a.m. exercise routine to later in the morning after letting herself sleep in.
The 31-year-old shared what happened when Jax interrupted her workout in a clip on TikTok (@morgansaleee). He asked for something to eat, even after she had just made the kids lunch.
...When she reminded him that he’s welcome to make himself some cereal, Jax continued to linger. That’s when she calmly, yet firmly, set a boundary: "Jax, I told you, this is my time. I need you to get out please. And respect that.”
Exercise is incredibly important to the mom who shares her four children with husband 34-year-old Michael.
“It’s honestly a lifeline,” Morgan told Newsweek. “As a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, I’m ‘on’ from the moment my kids wake up until the moment they go to bed. Moving my body is the one part of the day that’s just for me. It keeps my mind clear, my mood steady and helps me show up as the patient, present mom I want to be.”
Morgan said moments like the one in her video have been years in the making. Early in her parenting journey, she struggled with guilt whenever she stepped aside for even a few minutes.
As her children grew—and as she became more aware of parental burnout—she slowly learned to model boundaries instead of sacrificing herself to every request.
“It didn’t happen overnight,” Morgan said. “It’s been a gradual process of teaching them, reminding them and staying consistent. Now they know, when mom is working out, she means business. That time is important and they’re capable of being patient or handling little things on their own.”
Morgan’s clip has gone viral on TikTok, amassing over 2.5 million views. In the comments, many parents thanked her for showing what boundary-setting can look like in real time.
“Setting a boundary for children is so important. ESPECIALLY women setting boundaries for boys that will grow up to be men,” one user wrote.
“You cannot pour from an empty cup. Fill your cup first, so that you have something to pour into theirs. Good job mama,” another added.
Morgan said her inbox filled with messages from mothers who felt “seen and validated,” especially those who struggle to carve out even a few uninterrupted minutes of their own.
“There have been a lot of conversations about mom guilt, about raising independent kids and about breaking the cycle of self-sacrifice that many of us grew up watching in our own mothers,” Morgan said. “It’s sparked a bigger conversation about what healthy boundaries actually look like in real, messy, everyday parenting.”
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