We’re all about providing support for parents—in big ways and small. One shining example of this is the recent trend of professors holding babies for their students as they take exams or just take notes. These kind acts have been going viral, and we’re all for it.

Professor Ramata Sissoko Cissé of Georgia Gwinnett College went viral this week after she stepped in and wore a student’s baby for an entire three-hour biology class. The baby’s mom is a student who couldn’t find a sitter.

Cissé’s daughter tweeted a photo of the kind act. .

my mom is my role model.

her student couldn’t find a babysitter today & being the true African mother that she is… https://t.co/fplWMACOKC

— Annadote (@AnnaKhadejah)
1568940039.0

This isn’t the first time a professor has made the news for helping a student during a childcare crunch/ back in April, Nathan Alexander, a professor of mathematics at Morehouse College held a student’s daughter while the father took notes.

And several months ago Dr. Julie George, a professor at the University of Texas, held the sick baby of a nursing student while the 22-year-old single mom took an exam.

“She has always told us not to miss a test and to call her if we get in a bind,” Natalie Norman, another student who posted the photo on Facebook, tells Good Morning America. “Not only was she okay with it, she was so excited to hold the baby. She held her for at least an hour.”

And who could forget when student, Ashton Robinson, couldn’t find a babysitter for her 10-month-old-son during a business-management class. She told her professor and he suggested she bring the baby to class. As a result, her professor, Dr. Henry Musoma (along with the student and baby) made an appearance on The Ellen Show, in which Robinson was awarded a $10,000 check.

It is wonderful to see professors stepping up for students in this very practical way as some of the institutions they work for are stepping in to help students with childcare. But for every adorable viral photo of a professor holding a baby, there are dozens of parents who couldn’t make it to class because they had no one to do the same for them.

If more parents had access to affordable childcare while going to college, instructors wouldn’t need to pull double-duty as baby holders. But for those who hold one generation while holding up another, we’re grateful. These professors aren’t just educators, they’re heroes.

[This post was originally published April 23, 2018. It has been updated.]

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