My 12-year-old son used to live on dino nuggets and cucumber slices. He is a creature of habit, and for a while, he had a hard time trying new foods. Now, things are far different, but probably because I let him try the tons of new foods he now likes on his own terms. A mom on TikTok named Kerrie is in a similar boat, except she’s also dealing with flack from internet strangers who accuse her of feeding her husband lavish meals while her kids eat “rubbish.”

The truth, which she explains in her video, is that Kerrie’s kids like what they like, and in most cases, they are unlikely to want a pot roast or other dinner that takes more effort than using an air fryer or the oven for 10 minutes. That’s totally OK, and as a mom who went through that with one kid and is dealing with that stage with another, I understand the value in letting kids help determine what their dinner is. Well, at least what the main dish is. When Kerrie explained herself, other moms stuck up for her and her kids.

@kerrieessex Replying to @chesterfeild ♬ original sound – kerrieessex

Other moms came to her defense about feeding her kids what they like.

In Kerrie’s TikTok, she responds to a comment on a previous video that says, “Why do your kids always have rubbish for tea and you and Danny always eat well? Who serves pizza with pasta? Poor kids. You love Danny more than your kids?” She immediately explains that her kids are given a choice about their dinners. So, if she and her husband eat something pricey or extravagant, like steak or seafood, but her kids opt for pizza or chicken nuggets, that’s because they chose that.

Although one user accused her of feeding herself and her husband better than she feeds her kids, she continues to explain that if she does try to force her kids to eat something like roast, for example, most of the time, they won’t like it. She has learned to feed her kids what they want so they will actually eat most of their meals. And if that’s what works for her and her family, then fed is best, right?

Kerrie also says that for Christmas, she knows her kids won’t eat a proper Christmas meal either, and that’s just the way things go in her home, and it works for them.

As someone who stocks up on the biggest bag of dino nuggets I can find every few weeks, I get it.

“I know that my kids will end up having probably, like, fish fingers and chips or pizza and chips,” she says in her video.

Other moms who get where she is coming from commented to share their support despite the initial comment that accused her of feeding her husband better than her kids.

“If you make stuff they won’t eat it’s a total waste of food and money,” someone commented. “At least they will eat what they asked for just like adults make what they fancy having. What’s wrong with giving them a choice too?”

Another added, “My mum never forced me to eat anything I didn’t like and now I eat all the things I didn’t like when younger. I know people who were forced and are now really fussy eaters. I totally agree they should get what they like.”

Honestly, that sounds like my tween son now.

Sure, he likes dino nuggets in his school lunches. But, more and more, he is willingly opening up to trying new foods. Sometimes he even likes them.

“God people judge so much,” someone else wrote under the TikTok. “My son is autistic. He has plain pasta or smiley faces on the side of every dinner!”

Someone else, who knows the holiday dinner struggle with particular eaters, wrote, “Sorry but my 17-year-old will probably have nuggets or beans on toast for X-mas dinner.”

The post Mom Accused of Feeding Her Kids ‘Rubbish’ While Her Husband Eats Like a King appeared first on Mom.com.

They say to trust your instincts as a mother, but one woman’s family and even doctors seemed to refuse to believe her when she thought something was wrong with her newborn. The woman, Kazlyn, posted a video on TikTok where she wrote in the caption that she sensed something was wrong when her daughter was two weeks old.

Unfortunately, she was all but gaslit into thinking everything was totally fine. But let’s be real, because as moms, we tend to know best. Even if some of our instincts feel more like fears of the worst outcomes, sometimes those fears are rooted in an uncanny feeling that turns out to be right. In a perfect world, all of the scariest instincts would be wrong, but that’s not the world we live in, my guy.

Her family claimed she was “Googling too much.”

@kazlyn.m she was only 2 weeks old when I knew something was wrong. her head was too narrow, too flat on the sides. she couldn't lay on her back because it protruded out in the back so much. she had a strange ridge on the top of her head. I started researching and by week 3, I knew she had a birth defect. my family insisted I was "googling too much" and I was scaring myself, that her head shape would "fix itself" but I ignored them, and brought it to my doctor, who brought it to a pediatrician who sent her for a CT scan. the scan that confirmed everything I already knew. she was born with sagittal craniosynostosis, which had caused her skull to prematurely fuse in the womb. I remembered her birth, 10 horrific hours of labour, screaming at the nurses she was stuck on my pelvic bone. unimaginable pain, failed epidural after epidural, and finally an emergency C-section. I had assumed my body failed to deliver her but it suddenly made sense now. her surgery is in a couple weeks, which will follow up with helmet therapy to reshape her skull. thankful for the support I have during this time & for trusting my instincts. #fyp #craniosynostosis #motherhood #babytiktok #craniosynostosisawareness ♬ original sound – n1n4603

Kazlyn’s video shows clips of her with her daughter, including her daughter getting tests done at a hospital in order to figure out what could be wrong with her. Kazlyn wrote in the caption that her daughter was just two weeks old when she could tell something wasn’t right. Her head was “too narrow” and one part of it has something protruding from it. Even so, doctors didn’t think there was an immediate cause for concern.

“I started researching and by week three, I knew she had a birth defect,” she wrote in the caption. “My family insisted I was ‘Googling too much’ and I was scaring myself, that her head shape would ‘fix itself,’ but I ignored them, and brought it to my doctor, who brought it to a pediatrician who sent her for a CT scan. the scan that confirmed everything I already knew. She was born with sagittal craniosynostosis, which had caused her skull to prematurely fuse in the womb.”

Clearly, it’s all about advocating for your child any chance you can get. A doctor might be right nine times out of 10 when it comes to common symptoms or what they see as a bit of a worry wort of a parent. But that other small percentage where they shouldn’t have sent that young mother on her way is where Kazlyn comes in.

Other moms commented to give Kazlyn some virtual pats on the back for trusting her intuition. Some even shared that they experienced similar situations before their own babies were diagnosed with sagittal craniosynostosis. For then, too, part of getting that diagnosis was going with their gut instinct.

“Mamas always know when something is wrong,” one user commented.

Another added, “Mama always knows best and at best you would’ve found out she was healthy. Better also to wear a helmet now when it’s not going to bother her as much and helmets work really well. I’ve seen it. Hope her surgery goes without a hitch. Get better soon, sweetheart.”

The lesson here, according to another user’s comment, is to always trust your instincts as a mother, especially when it comes to your child’s well-being. It’s one thing to fear the worst without anything to back it up. But when there is something clearly shoved into your face about your baby’s condition, what choice do you have but to immediately advocate for them nonstop?

The post Mom Says Doctors & Family Dismissed Concerns About Baby’s Health But She Was Right appeared first on Mom.com.

At the beginning of the holiday season, I am a stickler for perfection, organization, and all around clean lines when it comes to getting ready for Christmas with wrapped gifts and a Santa-ready home. But by the week before Christmas arrives, however, I’m more in the camp of using exorbitant amounts of tape to wrap around gifts, tossing what I can into gift bags, and being done with it all. That’s why I can absolutely relate to a mom on Instagram who refused to change her family’s Christmas cards when they came back to her with the wrong family name on them.

If this were to happen to the beginning-of-the-season version of me, I might be inclined to jump into action and fix it as quickly as possible. But, several hundred dollars and lots of hours of hard wrapping labor later, and I would probably do the same thing as this mom. Or, in other words, do absolutely nothing.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jessi Way (@thegoodwrench)

And no, she is not re-ordering the Christmas cards with the wrong family name on them.

The mom, Jessi, explains in her Instagram video that she ordered 80 Christmas cards with a photo of her family on them with the intent of mailing them out to friends and family. So far so good, right? Well, not really. Because, in an effort to get the cards done quickly online, Jessi forgot to remove the stock last name automatically in the proof photo while editing the card design online.

Now, instead of the card saying “Happy Holidays” from her family, the Ways, the cards have their name as the Sinclaires.

“Accidentally ordered all 80 of our Christmas portraits with the STOCK last name Sinclaire,” Jessi wrote in the caption of the video. “And no, I am absolutely not reordering them because these holiday cards already cost roughly one mortgage payment.”

She added that she is “just a busy mom over here doing her freaking best this holiday season.” Same, girl, same.

Other moms commented to joke about checking to see if Jessi had gotten a divorce and that was the reason for the name change. Some, with the last name Sinclaire, even commented to welcome Jessi to the family.

Another joked, “From the ‘Your Text Here Family.'”

Someone else shared a similar story where she also forgot to make sure the stock information was correct before she ordered her cards. But hey, at least she got the photo correctly.

“One year I actually left on the entire paragraph the stock card had,” she commented. “Elliot was doing well in soccer, Jannette was a straight A student, and Tyler had traveled. We’re not those people, but I’m glad they had a better year than we did.”

Mostly, though, people urged Jessi to lean hard into her mess-up and even get a Christmas tree ornament with her new “family name” on it. In fact, according to some, Jessi should make all of her family’s future Christmas cards include the fake last name. Hey, I’m all for family traditions, personally.

The post Mom Says Her Christmas Card Fail Cost as Much as ‘One Mortgage Payment’ appeared first on Mom.com.

The general chaos of preparing for Christmas, setting up for the holiday, and then dealing with the aftermath is so real for parents everywhere. The aftermath, in this case, being tons of toys that need to be cut, ripped, or sawed open in order to be played with. Oh, and let’/s not forget batteries, instructions for setting things up, charging new electronics, and the list goes on. Like I said, it’s chaotic and it’s a lot.

So one mom on TikTok, Lala, came up with a few simple rules for surviving the holidays. Alright, not really surviving the holidays. But, according to her in her video, she has some Christmas morning rules, and rules for the days leading up to the holiday, that can make everything go a little more smoothly for everyone, kids and adults alike.

@lalamg2703 These are my Christmas rules for an easy breezy Christmas morning as a mom. #christmas #christmastok #christmasideas ♬ original sound – Lala MG

Honestly, her Christmas rules make a lot of sense for kids and adults.

Lala explains in her video that she has two kids: a 13-year-old boy and a two-year-old daughter. They both have different interests and different schedules, but Christmas is a time for them both to enjoy, and Lala’s Christmas rules apply to both of her kids. They even apply to the adults in the home, since one of her rules involves adhering to those Christmas lists to a T.

“And as time has gone on, this is how I’ve perfected the system for myself and my family,” Lala says. “One. before we even get to Christmas morning, when we’re wrapping gifts Christmas Eve, which we’re definitely doing Christmas Eve, because my kids are nosy, and they’re gonna find the gifts if I put them under the tree, we are making sure any toy that needs to be built and takes more than three minutes, two clicks, and a clap to put together, it has to be put together on Christmas Eve.”

That means Barbie houses, play kitchens, or other toys that will take you the entire afternoon on Christmas to put together should be done ahead of time. Lala also says in her video that if a toy requires batteries or an accessory that it can’t function without, parents need to purchase those items to go along with the gift.

And, when it comes to those Christmas wish lists from your kids, it’s best to stick to the list and not go off-script. 

“Either you get it, the thing he asked for specifically, or you don’t get it,” she says. “My daughter is not old enough to really ask for anything, but my son is 13, and if he asks for a specific pair of sneakers, that’s what he wants. He doesn’t want a knock off version of that item.”

That’s fair enough. If you think a particular clothing item or electronic item is too expensive, then just pass on it this year. Chances are, your kid does not want the Five Below version of Apple AirPods. Lala also says in her video that, for kids, regardless of their age, the item they asked for means something to them. So it means something else to them if you are able to find that special specific gift and give it to them for Christmas.

The post Mom’s ‘Controversial’ Christmas Morning Rules Might Actually Be Genius appeared first on Mom.com.

I refuse to think too hard about all of the heartbreaks, BFF arguments, and slammed doors that are in my six-year-old’s daughter’s future. But, like death and taxes, they are inevitable. One mom on TikTok, Ashley, gets this, because she posted a video about how she recognizes that one day, she will have to deal with the awful boys of the world because of her daughter getting her heart broken. She’s real for that one.

Although the girl mom (who also has two sons, by the way) got some other parents in the comments to rally behind her, some obvious boy moms were not happy about her post. Some even commented to share that they are more worried about girls breaking their sons’ hearts. Others felt the need to actually defend their sons, who no one knows. OK, calm down, guys.

@ashleyl1617 #fyp ♬ som original – GoodMusicTipografias

The boy moms really missed the point with her post about her daughter.

Ashley’s TikTok features a video of her daughter getting out of a truck with the words, “Someday, somebody’s loser a– son is going to break her heart and I’m going to have to act surprised when she tells me someone busted the windows out of his car and flattened his tires” on the screen. Obviously, she doesn’t really plan to commit that crime someday. I mean, I don’t think so, anyway. But the sentiment is there.

She’s already thinking about the inevitable when it comes to the poor behaviors of teenage boys. Regardless of how teenage boys are raised, mistakes and lapses in judgment happen. Not even the most perfect angel tween boys necessarily grow up to be the epitome of perfection as teenage boyfriends. Let’s be very real about that. But some of the boy moms of the world were quick to fly to the comments on their broomsticks and defend their sons. Who, by the way, were not personally attacked in the video.

“Mom of three boys here…hi…I’m raising future KINGS that won’t ever break a woman’s heart,” one mom commented.

Another mom added, “Mom of seven boys and two girls…I’m more afraid for my sons meeting sneaky/manipulative/sleezy girls than my daughters being treated poorly.”

It’s totally fair to be worried for your kids, regardless of their gender. But the point of Ashley’s post wasn’t to incite a social media war against all of the future teen boyfriends of the world.

“I am raising my son also to be a king to a queen that’s worthy to be called one,” another apparent boy mom commented. “Raise boys to become men, not players and raise girls to be women, not community bicycles. Just saying we all have our parts as parents.”

Other parents commented to rally behind Ashley and agree that they, too, are worried for their daughters and have been since they were born. Some self-proclaimed boy moms and boy dads even agreed with Ashley and joked about giving her an alibi years from now, should she need it after taking revenge on her daughter’s future boyfriend’s car.

At the end of the day, though, this mom just wants the best for her daughter, and she isn’t the only one.

“This actually happened to a guy I dated in high school and he 1000% blamed me,” someone wrote in the comments. “To this day I’ve never slashed a tire…but I never asked my mom…”

The post Mom’s TikTok About Future Heartbreak Sparks Boy Mom Outrage appeared first on Mom.com.

Every mom has her fair share of fantasies. One of them—outside the realm of Pedro Pascal/Jonathan Bailey fantasies—is that her children will actually eat her home-cooked meals. Regularly. But it’s called a “fantasy” for a reason, right? Well one mom may have cracked the code on getting your kids to actually eat things that aren’t Kraft Mac and Cheese or dino nuggets, and she’s gone viral on TikTok for it. It’s one viral food trick you definitely haven’t seen already.

The mom, @mac.larena on TikTok, props her phone camera up on her kitchen counter and makes a big show of the Styrofoam containers she’s pulling out of a big paper bag. Her kids immediately eat it up—figuratively and literally.

“I got ham and three-cheese grilled cheese on garlic cheese bread,” she begins, pulling the sandwich out and showing her kids. “And tomato soup to go with it.”

It’s freaking GENIUS, okay?! Her kids even tell her “whoever made this at the cafe, five stars.” YES GIRL. Five stars for your amazingly creative mom and her solid acting chops.

The clip struck a nerve, because it highlights something parents know all too well: kids’ eating habits are often more about perception than taste. (Or because they’re stubborn little jerks who are spoiled from too many Happy Meals.) There’s a certain magic to food that arrives in a bag, even when it’s identical to what came off your own stove.

Commenters flooded in to applaud her “marketing genius,” swapping their own stories of repurposed takeout containers and renamed meals. If nothing else, the viral moment underscores a quiet truth of modern parenting—because let’s be so for real, sometimes feeding your kids isn’t about nutrition charts or Pinterest-perfect dinners, but about doing whatever works, even if that means slapping a fake logo on leftovers and calling it a win.

“As a 25 year old I actually think this may work on myself,” one person said.

“This is the only form of gaslighting that I approved of, like brilliant,” says another.

“They’re gonna grow up and be like ‘mom you never make anything good’ meanwhile the ‘cafe’ got 5 stars,” another person hilariously pointed out.

It turns out, this mom is pretty good at getting her kids to eat things they normally wouldn’t. In a follow-up video, she shows how she makes her kids supper “out of ingredients they hate” by disguising them cleverly in other, more mainstream meals they actually like.

Because it really is all about perception. I know if my kid saw squash bites or slices on her plate, she’d turn up her nose. But if I put it in the food processor and added it to her spaghetti sauce, no one’s the wiser.

She also teaches viewers that a “wrinkly vegetable isn’t rotten, it’s just dehydrated.” Honestly, same with me and my skin. This woman is just full of life lessons over here!

The post Mom Goes Viral for ‘Fakeout Takeout’ Because It’s Genius appeared first on Mom.com.

Is there a more polarizing topic online for new parents than safe sleep? And, honestly, yes—it should be a no-brainer, and everyone should be educated on the topic at this point. But even if they are, some parents don’t care. Or some care but want to do what they want to do more. Take this viral TikTok about co-sleeping and anxiety—it should be relatable, right? It sounds like it would be. But it’s either meant to be relatable and slightly funny, or it’s meant as rage-bait. There is no in-between when it comes to co-sleeping.

TikTok user @alli.beth shared a video of her infant in a bassinet earlier this month. Sure, your first thought is probably something along the lines of, “Well, what’s wrong with that?” Surely a bassinet is safe! And you would be right. Except for one tiny detail in this particular video.

The baby is in the bassinet, yes. But the bassinet is on the bed.

A vast majority of commenters were aghast at even the mere suggestion of this bassinet-on-the-bed thing.

What happens when you piss off the entire internet about safe sleep?

“I will never understand taking the risk. The Halo bassinet is perfect and achieves closeness safely,” one of the top comments reads. And when someone asked what was unsafe about this video, the commenter pointed out that the baby is now on an uneven sleeping surface, which isn’t safe. And a Halo bassinet has a swivel option that allows parents to bring the baby as close to them as possible.

“The problem with cosleeping is the extreme survivor bias. The moms whose babies ended up fine will endlessly advocate for it, while the moms whose lost their babies will stay silent due to shame/fear/sadness,” another commenter shared.

“I work in an ER,” shares another. “I will never forget the 7w old baby who passed from co sleeping. I’d be lying if I said I never put my baby in my bed but that was more than enough to encourage me to never risk it again.”

And the thing is, a lot of us can relate to being so tired we will do just about anything to get some rest when we can. It’s also not wrong to instinctively want to sleep with or near your baby. But those things simply cannot be more important than ensuring your baby sleeps in the safest way possible.

What the experts say

“We’ve made great strides in learning what keeps infants safe during sleep but much work still needs to be done,” said Rachel Moon, MD, FAAP, lead author of a 2022 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) technical report, generated by the AAP Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the AAP Committee on Fetus and Newborn.

“A baby’s death is tragic, heartbreaking and often preventable. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that simple is best: babies should always sleep in a crib or bassinet, on their back, without soft toys, pillows, blankets or other bedding,” said Dr. Moon, professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

According to the AAP, approximately 3,500 infants die from sleep-related infant deaths annually in the United States. Research indicates that sleep-related death can occur when an infant with an intrinsic vulnerability to SIDS is placed in an unsafe sleep environment. The annual number of deaths has remained about the same since 2000 following a substantial decline in deaths in the 1990s as the result of a national educational campaign to put babies on their backs to sleep.

“You want to cosleep but you’re *a good parent that isn’t going to let your baby die because of your anxiety* fixed it for you,” says another commenter on the video.

In a follow-up video, @alli.beth clarifies that the bassinet-on-the-bed thing was just a joke, because even though she’d love to co-sleep (as many of us probably would if it were risk-free), she doesn’t. She also mentions that the small bassinet she originally showed is just one she’ll use for travel.

“Hey so this is where he actually sleeps,” she captioned the video.

It’s great that the OG video wasn’t serious, but whew—rage-baiting the new parent/safe sleep internet community? That takes some serious bravado!

The post Parents Rage-Bait TikTok Commenters With Co-Sleeping Video appeared first on Mom.com.

If you had a husband by your side while you gave birth, or while you waited to be wheeled in for a C-section, then you can probably appreciate the care they took to be there for you. That’s all well and good, and hooray for men. Well, in this instance, anyway. But when one husband joked on TikTok about the “traumatic hospital chair” he was forced to sleep in, there were some mixed reactions from other parents.

Some got the humor right away and shared their own jokes about the men not getting enough accolades despite the women doing the work of actual labor. Others were not here for this foolishness, even if the husband just meant it as a joke. There were even a few dads who had the audacity to comment on the TikTok that they legitimately want more credit for sticking it out for hours for their respective wives. Let’s not get out of control here, fellas.

@justmezehra

Ok.

♬ original sound – Zehra

Apparently, nothing trumps the trauma of dads in the delivery room…sure, Jan.

The TikTok, which was actually posted to the husband’s wife’s account, shows the camera slowly closing in on the husband while his wife, Zehra, talks to someone off-camera. On the screen, it says, “POV” Your wife always gets to tell her traumatic birth story but no one ever asks about the traumatic hospital chair you had to sleep on.”

Most hospitals have the same accent chair that sometimes doubles as a single bed when pulled out. And, whether it’s used as a chair with no foot stool or as a narrow bed for husbands while their wives go through hours upon hours of labor, it’s historically uncomfortable. I’ll give him that. But there is nothing about that chair that compares to the mental and physical toll that birthing an actual child takes on a woman.

Luckily, it seems like Zehra’s husband is all jokes about the entire situation.

The fact that she allowed him to post the video to her TikTok account proves that she’s in on the joke too. So dom’t worry, we won’t have to track him down and force him to understand the severity of giving birth versus dealing with an uncomfortable hospital chair.

Other moms commented on the TikTok to join in on the joke with Zehra.

“I was bleeding out, stayed in the ICU for days, and needed multiple blood transfusions, but I didn’t have it as bad as my poor husband,” one mom commented. “Those monsters didn’t even bother to give him an extra pillow!”

Another shared, “Trust me, everyone knows my husband went almost 32 hours without sleep.” Ah, so she has one of those men, who likes to bring up his interrupted sleep while she was likely going through intense labor pains. Fun.

A husband joked, “My wife was in labor for like 14 hours. Talk about BORING.”

Another added, “It’s been four years. I’m still trying to recoup the lost sleep I had from the hospital chair.”

Hey, at least some of the husbands are self-aware enough to realize that, in the grand scheme of things, spending a few hours, or even overnight, in an uncomfortable chair is nothing compared to what their wives went through.

The post Husband Jokes About ‘Traumatic Hospital Chair’ During Wife’s Labor appeared first on Mom.com.

Being the memory maker, elf mover, gift wrapper, and all around good time gal no matter what the event is during the holiday season is not as easy as some moms make it look. But we do it, because part of our job is to make that magic happen at every turn, especially if we have spouses who do their best to put a damper on it all.

I don’t know what it is about some men and the tendency to throw on a woe-is-me face and drag their feet to pumpkin patches, Santa meet-and-greets, and Christmas tree farms. But one woman on TikTok, Paige, shared in a video that she has seen how the grumpy dad syndrome during the holiday season impacts kids long-term.

Spoiler alert: most kids remember those grumpy dad moments well into adulthood, so yeah, it’s not great.

Kids will remember their dad complaining about every little thing during the holidays.

@sheisapaigeturner Kids will always remember which parent helped make the holidays magical. They also remember when someone steals that magic. ##holidaymagic##christmasgifts##christmaspictures##familytradition##happyholidays ♬ original sound – Paige

Paige explains in her video that she still thinks about the Christmas when her mom gave her dad a set of gold balls that were supposed to be from the kids. Because they weren’t the specific brand he likes, he threw a fit. He could have put on a smile and played it off, but he chose not to. And Paige still remembers that moment well, among all of the other happy holiday memories. Ouch.

“I think as a parent, like, part of my job, and I imagine what my mom was doing at the time, was trying to make us feel like the holidays were magical,” Paige says. “And those moments when a parent is complaining or frustrated to be at the pictures or doesn’t like the gift, and they state it out loud, it doesn’t just communicate to their partner that they’re unhappy or disappointed or whatever it is. It also communicates to the child.”

Kids can feel it if a parent is frustrated or checked out. Even when I get the slightest but frustrated, my six-year-old clocks it right away and checks in with me. Bless her little sassy soul for that, but it just proves that kids see and sense more than some parents might think. So a Christmas or fall season marred by a parent, specifically a dad, who complains or makes it clear that he doesn’t want to go somewhere will stick with a child for a long time.

Paige also says in her video that she isn’t sure when this narrative of husbands being so unwilling to participate in holiday events, to the point where they openly complain or sulk during the events, became the norm. Honestly, I can’t either. It’s not cute, and life is not a sitcom. No one wants to endure the holidays or what are supposed to be fun family events if there is a curmudgeon along for the ride.

“Every time I see a ‘funny’ video of a dad complaining about family photos or whatever it is, I think about that,” Paige says in her TikTok. “Like, I think about that experience as a child and feeling so viscerally that my parent was not enjoying or wasn’t happy with what was happening. And I just want this to be a friendly reminder that your kids are paying attention, and they will remember.”

The post Mom’s Message About the Impact of ‘Grumpy’ Dads During Christmas Hits Home appeared first on Mom.com.

When your kid’s favorite show features a funny or silly adult joke or two, you know you’ve got a forever favorite in your home. Even if your kid ages out of the show, you are likely more inclined to try and convince them to keep liking it for a few more years. Especially since you know it’s at least more bearable than some other shows out there. For some parents, it’s still The Wiggles.

A dad shared a TikTok, which was then shared across Reddit, where he shows a funny dance that one of the guest characters performed during an episode. It sounds standard enough, especially for the long-running show where songs and dance are part of its DNA. But in the video, the dancer clearly took matters into his own hands during filming. Making it even funnier is none of the members of The Wiggles knew what was happening. The dad’s reaction to it all is sort of everything.

@renegadeclips6 This is brilliant! #thewiggles #dance #viral #funny #video ♬ original sound – RenegadeClips

Sometimes, ‘The Wiggles’ just hits differently.

In the video, a dad is watching The Wiggles with his child. In the episode, a man who is dressed as a tree is the focal point of the song and performance. He has to break into dance at different points throughout the segment, and he does just that. Except, instead of keeping his dance moves neutral or at least consistent throughout the clip, the moves change every time, and acts downright ridiculous. Perfect for a kids’ show, right?

At one point, the dancing tree man even does a rendition of Tina Turner’s iconic dance, and Carlton’s dance from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And that’s not the only funny part about the video. Every time the dancer switches things up and goes absolutely feral with a new move, Lachy Wiggle, the purple Wiggle, looks absolutely baffled.

But, somehow, all of The Wiggles continue on with the song without missing a beat or a lyric. It’s honestly a wonder that no one busted up laughing during the segment they filmed with the tree guy. Clearly, it wasn’t rehearsed this way. And the dad who posted the clip laughs throughout it, while also talking about how “brilliant” it is. He seems to like it even more than his kid, but that just means that The Wiggles is now a mainstay in his home.

When the clip was shared on Reddit, someone commented, “The baby sounds too young to know what’s going on. Dad sounds like this is his fifth round watching. Meanwhile…Tree guy was BORN for this.” 

Another user commented, “You can hear the baby the dude put The Wiggles on for, but he just got so sucked in too. Great job Wiggles, love those peeps.”

Really, that’s the best case scenario if you are in a stage of parenthood where your living room television is ruled by a toddler. Shows like Bluey offer the kind of entertainment that parents can get behind too, and it’s a national treasure in my home, personally. So to hear the dad’s utter enjoyment at watching The Wiggles and the tree man perform together, it’s a familiar sound.

And for The Wiggles, it’s clearly multi-generational.

Someone else wrote in the comments, “I watched The Wiggles growing up, now my sons watch The Wiggles, and it still entertains me.”

The post Dad’s Reaction to ‘Wiggles’ Clip Is Peak Parenting Joy That We’ve All Experienced appeared first on Mom.com.