TikTok's Matt and Abby Howard Face Criticism for Leaving 1- and 2-Year-Old Sons Alone in Room During Dinner on Cruise

Per Abby's Instagram Story, the podcast co-hosts decided to move their evening meal after their kids' bedtime

Influencers Matt and Abby Howard are facing online criticism for their controversial parenting choice while on a family vacation.

The Unplanned Podcast co-hosts brought their sons Griffin, 2, and August, 1, on a family cruise this past week, and the couple documented parts of their experience on social media. In a since-expired Instagram Story, Abby shared how she and Matt went to dinner without their boys and used FaceTime to monitor them in the room.

"So we ended up taking them for 5 nights and it became apparent that they weren't enjoying it and therefore we weren't either," the viral mom wrote on Instagram. "So THEN we switched our dinner time to AFTER their bedtime and FaceTimed the monitors while we ate."

Related: TikTok Couple Matt and Abby Howard Are Boycotting Father’s Day After He Says Their 2023 Holiday Was 'a Bummer'

Abby also noted how their baby monitors "don't work on board" the cruise ship "unless you're only like 10 feet away." Referring to their dinnertime solution, she added, "And that worked out muchhhh better for everyone."

Social media users quickly responded to the Howards' decision to leave their sons unattended on the ship. Several YouTube and TikTok creators made videos detailing safety concerns about the situation, though Matt and Abby have yet to publicly respond to the backlash.

The couple did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Related: Teenager Leaves Parents on Caribbean Island to Get Back to Cruise on Time: 'They Missed the Departure. By a Lot'

The parents previously stirred up a conversation earlier this summer, when they announced their plans to "boycott Father's Day" during an episode of The Unplanned Podcast. Matt and Abby explained that they wanted to postpone celebrating the holiday until September, since the real date in June conflicts with Matt's birthday.

Abby said she decided to combine his birthday and Father's Day festivities in June 2023, when she was pregnant with their second son. Looking back, Matt called the doubled-up celebration "a bummer," though he acknowledged that there was a lot going on that day as well.

Abby explained that she and Matt had “just gotten back from [their] babymoon” in Mexico the same day, but was still “disappointed” in herself for not doing more for her husband.

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