A momfluencer reviewed a $499,000 armored SUV that can withstand explosions and pepper-spray or tase anyone who comes near her kids, showcasing the apocalyptic anxiety of prepper parents

• A momfluencer car reviewer showcased a $499,000 armored SUV as the "safest vehicle" for families.
• The Rezvani Vengeance has pepper spray, bulletproof glass, and electrified door handles.

"I'm body-armored, and so is this vehicle!"

So begins the heavily pregnant "Mobile Mama" in her latest viral video, speaking in a chipper voice and sporting a bulletproof vest and military helmet. This time, the social media influencer — who reviews vehicles on TikTok and Instagram based on how family-friendly the cars are — showcased the Rezvani Vengeance as the perfect safety-focused choice for families.

The Vengeance, a street-legal luxury military vehicle, features electrified door handles, explosive underbody shielding, and can pepper-spray anyone who gets too close. The armored SUV, with optional blinding headlights and steel ram bumper for off-roading or collisions, ranges from $285,000 to $499,000, depending on which deadly doo-dads owners opt for. Complete bulletproofing is available in the fully-loaded vehicle, while the base model comes with standard safety features like pedestrian detection and a heads-up display in lieu of a rearview mirror.

Optional night vision, a smoke screen, and rifle compartment are available for an extra charge.

"Is the Rezvani Vengeance the safest vehicle for you and your kiddos or what, Mama?" the influencer asks viewers in the captions of her TikTok, before highlighting the "momerable" features of the tank-like car.

Comments on the video range from mocking the military-grade SUV — with some viewers saying "this is NOT gta," and "do you live in Gotham or something?" — to praise for the decked-out machine: "If I ever become rich, I'm immediately getting one of these."

Rezvani President and CMO Cynthia Karimi told Insider the usual buyer for the Vengeance is the wealthy apocalypse prepper or celebrity concerned with both flash and safety, who don't want to ride in an "understated" security vehicle — like an armored Lexus, BMW, or Range Rover. However, she said, a significant portion of her buyers are those with larger families who want to be "prepared for anything and everything."

Social media can make parents 'terrified all the time'

While the clip prompted jokes about parents driving the Vengeance to soccer practice or accidentally zapping their kids with its electrified handles, mental health professionals told Insider the video highlights a serious issue. It reveals an extreme example of the darker side of social media parenting accounts, where parents — especially mothers — face increased pressure about keeping their kids safe and may be influenced to take over-the-top measures to soothe their anxiety.

"I think that when you see a bulletproof SUV with flame throwers and pepper spray and that kind of stuff, most of us will be like, 'Oh my gosh, that is nuts,'" Lynn Lyons, a licensed independent clinical social worker and host of the popular podcast Fusterclux, about managing anxiety, told Insider. "But where I see it become much more powerful — and much more harmful — is when we're just talking about the very consistent messaging that, for example, it's really important to track your kids so that you know where they are all the time."

Lyons said social media, with its "constant drumbeat of all the horrible things that can happen to your kids," has contributed to a generation of parents who she says are "terrified all the time."

Mobile Mama told Insider she doesn't feel specific pressure to keep her kids safe with a vehicle like the Vengeance but would have one for her family if money wasn't an issue. Her name is known to Insider, but due to harassment she has faced on her profile over this video, is being withheld.

As a parent and former teacher, Mobile Mama said she does see that there is a "hyper focus" on parents doing whatever they can to protect their kids, which she believes is caused by constant news stories about incidents like school shootings and abductions.

"I don't think too many parents on social media would be like, 'I'm gonna get one of those bulletproof cars,'" Lyons told Insider. "But I think that they are going to say is, 'gosh, the world is really dangerous. It's really important for me to do all of these things that aren't in the category of crazy to make sure that my children are not in any risk.'"

This kind of pressure, Lyons said, can cause parents to believe they are failing their children if they don't take measures like tracking their location or reading their social media messages. And, as technology has advanced, the measures parents take to keep their kids safe have stayed in lockstep.

"There's also this interesting thing that happens that, if the technology is available, and if you don't use it and something bad happens to your kid, then you're going to experience an enormous amount of guilt and regret," Lyons told Insider. "And this is what anxiety really, really feeds on — the possibility of something bad happening and how you can prevent feeling regret."

Anxious parents raise less resilient kids

Parents who are overly fixated on their children's safety may monitor their children's whereabouts with GPS trackers, observe them with baby monitors into their teen years, or prevent them from interacting with strangers.

"Having a reasonable amount of fear can be helpful and can allow for parents to teach and model to their children ways to stay safe and work towards their independence," Lena Suarez-Angelino, LCSW for Choosing Therapy, said in a statement to Insider. "Parents who go out of their way to keep their children safe, may actually cause more harm than good as their child begins to gain and explore their independence."

Anxious parents tend to raise children who are less likely to take risks, have an increased rate of depression, and are less confident overall, Lyons told Insider. As a result, they may be less emotionally resilient, have difficulty problem-solving, and avoid social interaction.

"The parent's irrational fears can create unhealthy worries in their children and manifest into "what if" or "worst case scenario" negative thinking patterns," Dr. Jaclyn Gulotta, a Florida Supreme Court certified family mediator, said in a statement to Insider, adding: "Parents may exhibit poor emotion regulation and unhealthy coping skills that may lead their children to practice the same behaviors."

In order to raise resilient children, Lyons said, parents have to do the opposite of what anxiety urges them to do: get comfortable not knowing or controlling every outcome. Allowing kids to fail, within reason, or experience age-appropriate risk, is key.

"These skills that are really important for independence and emotional management and resilience those skills are not cultivated in an environment of safety, safety, safety," Lyons told Insider.

Mobile Mama told Insider her channel is meant to provide a useful service to her audience — made up of roughly 70% moms like her, she estimates, based on her engagement. When considering a new vehicle, her audience considers a car's size and functionality, but its safety features above all else.

"I think it's just, as a mom, you want your kids to be safe, right?" Mobile Mama told Insider. "That's the number one concern."