Singleterry captured the moment on camera. Later, she posted it to TikTok, where it went viral, amassing more than 10 million views
Mackenzie Scott was sitting at her local nail salon in Arkansas with her mom and sister when she noticed a woman nearby holding her crying baby while getting dip powder nails.
The 20-year-old recalls thinking that she needed to do something. That's when she walked over to the woman and asked if she could assist. "I said, 'Here, let me help you while you finish your nails,' " Scott tells PEOPLE exclusively.
At first, Scott says the woman, whom she later learned was Kayla Jo Singleterry, a single mom of two, was hesitant but then decided to give it a try. "She said, 'I don't think she'll go to you because she only lets me, my mom, or my sister-in-law hold her,' and just as she said that, the baby leaned toward me to be picked up," Scott recalls. As soon as Scott picked her up, the baby immediately stopped crying.
For 45 minutes, Scott held Singleterry's 6-month-old daughter, Hendricks Hutton, gently bouncing her around the salon until Singleterry was finished. During that time, Scott's mom chatted with Singleterry.
"I've always loved children and enjoy babysitting, so getting to see the baby smile while her mom enjoyed getting her nails done made me so happy," Scott says.
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Eventually, Singleterry's nails were done. She walked over to Scott, placed her hand on her back and said, "Thank you so much for your help, it really means a lot to me." The two didn't exchange contact information and went their separate ways.
But later that night, Scott happened to check her spam DMs on Instagram and saw that Singleterry had found her and messaged her to thank her again. Scott responded, sending her phone number and offering to help anytime. The mom then proceeded to ask Scott if she could post a few clips on TikTok she'd captured of her holding Hendricks.
"I said absolutely," Scott says. "I didn't think it would go viral, maybe just a couple hundred people would see it."
But within days, the TikTok video amassed more than 10 million views and 5,000 comments.
"I never expected something so small to get so much attention," Scott says. "It's a reminder that even the simplest acts of kindness can make a big impact. If this inspires others to spread kindness, then that's the best outcome I could hope for."
"I just want to emphasize the importance of being kind, even in the smallest ways, because you never know how much it might mean to someone," she adds. "Kindness has the power to change a person's day or even their life."
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Speaking to PEOPLE exclusively, Singleterry recalls just how special this moment -- which also happened to be on her birthday -- was for her, and why she decided to post it on social media. She says that on the day this happened, she had been at a dentist appointment with her 8-year-old daughter, so Hendricks missed her usual afternoon nap.
"Earlier that day, my mom asked what I would like for my birthday, and I told her I'd love to go get my nails done," the mom recalls. "She said, 'Well, I actually have an appointment this afternoon. I can see if they can get us in, or we can go tomorrow.' I said, 'Tomorrow will probably be better because we have a dentist appointment.' She replied that they didn't have anything available tomorrow, so she asked if I could go today."
Singleterry agreed, and after her older daughter's dentist appointment, she arrived at the salon with her baby, who was cranky and crying because she had missed her nap. Right away, the nail techs tried to help, but Hendricks wouldn't sit in her stroller, so Singleterry had her on her lap.
"We had already started the dip powder, and she was bawling, fussing, trying to squirm out of my arms," the mom says. "I had dip powder on my nails and was trying to hold Hendricks, but I was getting it all over her sweatshirt."
"I was literally sweating and on the verge of tears. I just wanted to go. But I already had the dip powder on my nails when Mackenzie walked over and offered to help," she adds. "I was already so frustrated, so when I finished I was just ready to get out of there. I thanked Mackenzie very quickly and left and got in the car. I felt so bad that I just needed to get out of there. I felt like I was ruining everybody's day."
But later that evening, once she got home, settled Hendricks and laid down in bed, Singleterry watched the video she had captured of Scott holding her daughter. Then, she started feeling guilty for not properly thanking her, realizing just how much Scott's help meant.
"I'm a single mom. The reason I brought her is I don't have any other help," Singleterry says. "Her dad's not around. My mom was with me, and other than that, I have no one. I was so overwhelmed. It didn't hit me until I was just laying there. I was like, 'Some random person just allowed me to do something I haven't been able to do for myself since I had her.' "
That's when she decided to track down Scott and ask for her permission to share the video on TikTok.
"I just wanted people to see what good such a small act of kindness can do," she says. "How it made me feel, how it made her feel. That one simple thing meant so much to me and I knew other people would be able to relate to it, and they did."
Since their encounter, the two families have stayed in touch. Singleterry says Scott and her mom asked to take her out for her birthday, which they did last week. At lunch, they brought both of her girls a Valentine's Day gift, brought her a birthday gift, and they stayed for two-and-a-half hours talking.
Scott also offered to watch Hendricks when Singleterry has her next nail appointment, or whenever she needs a babysitter.
"I have been praying for this village," Singleterry says. "Everybody talks about it takes a village. I stayed so strong throughout my entire pregnancy with Hendricks. She has a different dad than my older daughter. I've been praying for this village that people talk about or just to have her have some other support in her life."
"The other day I opened my Facebook messages and Mackenzie's mom had messaged me and said, 'We are here to be your village.' And I just broke down. Oh my God. I was just so grateful," she adds. "I think I made some lifelong connections for sure."