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How Bubbles Help Kids with Cleft Conditions
For thousands of children born with cleft conditions, Operation Smile provides simple, playful tools—like bubbles—to strengthen the skills they need to speak and thrive.
While a bottle of bubbles might seem out of place in a hospital setting, you might be surprised to learn that, for thousands of children around the world born with cleft lip and palate, they can be a helpful tool in comprehensive cleft care. Lilia, who was born with cleft lip and palate in 2020, is one of the many patients who received this care.
As a toddler, Lilia underwent two surgeries to treat cleft lip and palate with Operation Smile’s surgical program in Puebla, Mexico. Because of Operation Smile’s comprehensive care, it wasn’t long before her personality transformed: Lilia went from a quiet and withdrawn toddler to an exuberant, curious explorer, babbling, expressing herself with a variety of sounds, and engaging with others like any child her age.
Lilia is now a healthy five-year-old, with the same cheerful attitude and boundless energy. Her progress is the result of care at every level, from surgery to speech therapy to ongoing support at home—but it’s also evidence that small, sustained interventions throughout it all can make a meaningful difference.
Lilia at age 1, before surgery, and at age 5, 4 years post-surgery Cleft Conditions: A Global Problem
Since 1982, Operation Smile has provided cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries to more than 500,000 patients worldwide with the help of generous volunteers and donors. Cleft conditions are congenital conditions, meaning they are present at birth. With cleft lip and palate, the lip or the roof of the mouth do not form fully during fetal development. Cleft conditions put children at risk for malnutrition and poor weight gain, since their facial structure can make feeding challenging. But cleft conditions can have an enormous social impact as well: Common difficulties with speech can leave kids socially isolated and unable to meet the same developmental milestones as their peers.
Surgery is a vital step in treating cleft conditions, but it’s also just one part of a much larger solution. Organizations like Operation Smile emphasize the importance of multi-disciplinary teams that provide comprehensive, long-term care to patients across many years. This approach, which includes oral care, speech therapy, nutritional support, and psychosocial care, not only aids in physical recovery from surgery but also helps children develop the skills and confidence to eat easily, speak clearly, and engage in everyday life. This ensures that each patient receives the full range of support they need to thrive.
Marie, 11 months, with her mother at Operation Smile Madagascar before her cleft surgery (Operation Smile Photos) A Playful (and Powerful) Solution
Throughout a patient’s care, simple tools like bubbles can play a meaningful role from start to finish.
Immediately before surgery, children are often in a new and unfamiliar environment far from home, some of them experiencing a hospital setting for the first time. When care providers or loved ones blow bubbles, it’s a simple yet effective technique: Not only are the children soothed and distracted, the bubbles also help create a sense of joy and playfulness that eases their anxiety.
Milagros Rojas, a volunteer speech therapist in Peru, using bubbles in a screening with a patient. (Operation Smile Photos) In speech therapy, bubbles can take on an even more important role. Blowing bubbles requires controlled airflow, as well as the ability to form a rounded “O” shape with the lips, which are skills that children with cleft conditions may struggle to develop. Practicing these skills with bubbles allows children to gently strengthen their facial muscles, improve breath control, and support the motor skills needed for speech development. Beyond that, blowing bubbles can help kids connect with their parents or providers in a way that’s playful, comforting, and accessible even for very young patients.
Finally, bubbles often follow patients with cleft conditions home in the “smile bags” that each patient receives when the surgical procedure is finished. Smile bags, which help continue speech therapy outside of the hospital setting, can contain language enrichment booklets, a mirror, oxygen tubing, and bubbles. While regular practice with motor skills can help with physical recovery, small acts of play help as well, giving kids space to simply enjoy themselves and join in on what peers are able to do.
Bubbles at Home and Beyond
Today, because of Operation Smile’s dedication to comprehensive cleft care, Lilia is now able to make friends and speak clearly, all things that could have been difficult or impossible before. Instead of a childhood defined by limitation, Lilia—and others around the world—can look forward to a childhood filled with joy, learning, discovery, friends, and new possibilities.
CTA: Lilia’s life was changed for the better with the care she received through Operation Smile. Find out how you can make an impact in other children’s lives by visiting operationsmile.org today.
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Mom realizes she’s been using the ‘heavy’ setting on her washer wrong for years—and fellow moms are shook
“Today years old when I realize why my blankets are sopping wet.”
Knocking out loads of laundry is a feeling of accomplishment that is unmatched. Depending on what needs to be washed, washing machines offer a variety of settings for the ideal clean. But even the most seasoned laundry pros can admit that they don’t fully understand how to use them properly.
One mom’s washing machine mistake went viral
One stay-at-home mom shared her funny and relatable washing machine mistake. Catrina (@granolabarpan) got the shock of a lifetime when she realized that she had been using the “heavy” setting on her washer wrong for years.
“POV: today years old when it clicks why my blankets are sopping wet!!! I thought HEAVY meant heavy items being washed,” she wrote in the video’s overlay.
“Heavy on my machine means heavily soiled,” she went on to add in the comments. “I thought it meant the stuff I was putting in the machine was heavy in weight/pounds.”
Some moms are also realizing this for the first time. “Ok.. so I am 66 years old learning this???!! I always thought that heavy meant weight also ,” one person commented. Another person wrote, “Well I was today years old when I learned what heavy meant too… “
Turns out, a lot of us have been confused
Others expressed confusion with so many settings, and reminiscing on simpler times. “Wait a minute. . I think I need to for once go and read the manual because I have been wondering about all of the options,” another user wrote. And another chimed in, “I want my old $250 3 options hot/warm/cold on/off washer back. It didn’t die it rusted out but took 25yrs to do it. I had 5 kids, plus my ex in-laws living with me.”
Struggling to understand the settings on your washing machine? You’re not alone.
“Knowing these settings helps avoid common laundry mistakes, such as using the heavy cycle for heavy fabric weight instead of heavy soil, which can lead to ineffective cleaning or damage over time,” Vanessa Ruiz, a professional organizer at Sparkly Maid San Antonio, tells Upworthy.
Washing machine settings explained
These are five washing machine settings and how they work:
1. Normal/Regular Cycle
Ruiz explains that this is your typical setting for day-to-day loads such as t-shirts, jeans, sheets, and underwear.
“These laundry loads are typically washed in warm water and the setting is rinsed with medium spin speeds through agitation in order to properly clean moderately soiled garments,” she says. “This cycle is safe enough to wash a variety of different fabric content with a somewhat dirty load.”
2. Delicate/Gentle Cycle
Ruiz notes that the delicate cycle is created specifically for delicate fabrics—lingerie, silk, lace, or embellished clothing—that may become damaged in a normal or regular wash.
“This cycle will use moderate spin speeds through gentle agitation to thoroughly dry clean and not damage clothes too easily,” says Ruiz. “This is the preferred cycle when laundry items that require extra care or are labeled ‘delicate’ or ‘hand wash’ need to be washed.”
3. Heavy Duty Cycle
The heavy duty cycle is specifically for heavily soiled items like work clothes, kitchen towels, and bedding.
“This setting uses higher water temperatures, longer wash times, and powerful agitation to remove stubborn dirt and grime. It’s perfect for those tough laundry jobs, but not recommended for delicate fabrics,” explains Ruiz.
4. Bulky/Bedding Cycle
This cycle is often confused with “heavy.”
“This cycle accommodates larger, heavier items that absorb a lot of water, such as comforters, pillows, and sleeping bags,” says Ruiz. “It uses more water, medium spin speeds, and longer wash times to thoroughly clean bulky items without causing damage or imbalance.”
5. Quick Wash
In a rush? This is the perfect setting to use.
“It is an accelerated wash cycle designed for small loads of lightly soiled clothes, usually lasting 15 to 40 minutes,” says Ruiz. “It’s great for when you need clean clothes fast and can save energy compared to longer cycles.”
Mystery solved
So the next time your blankets come out of the wash sopping wet, or your delicates come out looking worse for wear, you’ll know exactly where things went wrong. A little knowledge about what each cycle actually does can save you time, energy, and a lot of unnecessary re-washing. And honestly, if you’ve been doing it wrong for years? You’re in very good company.
This article originally appeared one year ago. It has been updated.
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Fed-up mom creates ‘TV schedule’ to mimic ’90s television for her kids
“There are almost no natural limits anymore, so parents have to become the limit.”
We live in an age of unlimited choice, thanks to modern technology. At any given time, most of us have access to the entirety of recorded music, thousands of on-demand movies, and even more individual episodes of our favorite shows.
This amount of choice is enough to make a person’s brain combust, especially when that person is a child.
Therapist says “parenting was easier in the 90s” and has a clever idea to fix it
Stephanie Wise, a licensed couples therapist and coach, recently took to social media to share one of her most effective and unique parenting hacks.
“Parenting was easier in the 90s (and no one wants to admit why),” the YouTube video headline reads.
She goes on to explain her favorite hack: “Bring back ’90s tech.”
“One of the hardest parts of parenting is that everything is available all the time. Every show, every song, every snack, every answer, every distraction. And then we wonder why our kids struggle when the answer is No,” she said.
Setting up an old tube TV in the living room with only basic channels sounds great, but it isn’t super feasible in the modern world. So what Wise does in her household is create a “TV schedule” in which “certain shows only play on certain days,” she said.
An example schedule she drew up on a whiteboard shows that Sunday is for Bluey, Wednesday is for Spidey and His Amazing Friends, and Thursday is for Puffin Rock. Other days include a few options—such as The Joy of Painting or Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, old-school choices—or may call for a movie, where the kids can pick from a limited supply of physical VHS tapes.
Choices are either extremely limited or nonexistent most days, and it makes her life much simpler.
“There are almost no natural limits anymore, so parents have to become the limit,” Wise said. “All day long. And it’s so exhausting.”
This is just one small way she gives everyone a well-deserved mental break.
Well over a million people watched Wise’s video across YouTube and other social media platforms, with commenters weighing in on how the advice resonated with them.
“The other thing you’re doing is bringing back that feeling of specialness we had when we couldn’t have everything on demand. That’s priceless,” one person wrote.
“This is so brilliant. You’re also giving your kids the ability to wait, to be bored, to adapt. Those are invaluable in this instant gratification age,” another wrote.
The kids are more relaxed with fewer choices and have a new “bad guy” to blame
Wise says that her TV schedule doesn’t just make her own life easier—it eliminates the daily battles: Can I watch this? How about this? No, I don’t like this. Change it to something else.
If the kids aren’t happy with what’s on TV, Mom is no longer the bad guy—the schedule is.
She also turns any frustration into a teachable moment: “I know, babe, waiting is so hard. I wish it was Spidey day, too.”
Not only are kids more than capable of surviving such a cruel exercise in deprivation, it’s actually good for them. Wise says she uses a similar technique in the car, listening only to the radio (no Spotify), and jokes that sometimes the kids have to deal with “a song they hate and have to survive for three minutes…That’s frustration tolerance, baby.”
What is frustration tolerance? It shouldn’t come as a huge shock that it’s not great for kids (or anyone) to get exactly what they want all the time. “I try to give her opportunities to learn to cope with frustration, boredom, or disappointment,” Wise said. “I don’t want her to feel overwhelmed or controlled by her emotions, so that’s important to me.”
Researchers agree with Wise that frustration management is a crucial skill for kids to learn before becoming adults.
Her method also reduces decision fatigue for all parties involved.
Decision fatigue, especially in an era of unlimited access, can be absolutely exhausting. Research even shows that people who have to make too many decisions day in and day out can simply give up and suffer from a severe lack of willpower.
Wise tells Upworthy that she and her husband aim to keep things as simple as possible for themselves when it comes to dinner menus and weekend plans, but it’s even more important for the kids. This is where she breaks from some of the more traditional parenting advice:
“For kids, we keep it simple. I don’t do choices on things like which cup or plate or spoon. I don’t do choices for clothes. For some kids that might be helpful—let them make ‘unimportant’ choices so they don’t fight the important things—but for my daughter, I found it stressed her out and resulted in way more tantrums.”
Wise admits, though, that what works for her and her family may not be right for everyone.
Wise is part of a growing movement that aims to bring back the lower-stimulation childhood many Millennials and Gen Xers grew up with. Research suggests that the media kids watch can be especially impactful, and slower-paced cartoons like Franklin or Arthur may help children with emotional regulation.
The data coming to light on modern kids’ television, screen time, and social media is alarming, but opting out completely feels difficult. Wise’s method struck a chord with other parents because it’s a simple tweak that can make a huge difference.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson shared this simple advice that parents today can still use to raise confident kids
Emerson was the father of four children.
Ralph Waldo Emerson contributed endless wisdom through his essays and poetry during his lifetime. He lived from 1803 to 1882.
The New England author is still revered today for his insights on humanity—so much so that he continues to influence pop culture. The video game Mortal Kombat 3 re-popularized a famous Emerson quote: “There is no knowledge that is not power.”
Emerson was also the father of four children, and his 19th-century parenting advice is still relevant today.
Emerson’s kids
Emerson’s first marriage was to a woman named Ellen Louisa Tucker in September 1829. She suffered from tuberculosis and, unfortunately, died less than two years later in February 1831. Devastated by her death, Emerson wrote this short poem in 1833:
“The days pass over me
And I am still the same
The Aroma of my life is gone
Like the flower with which it came.“He married for a second time in September 1835 to Lidian (Lydia) Jackson. The couple went on to have four children: Waldo, born in 1836; Ellen, born in 1839; Edith, born in 1841; and Edward Waldo, born in 1844.
Emerson was a devoted father. His son, Edward Waldo, wrote of his father: “He had a love and tenderness for very small children, and his skill in taking and handling a baby was in remarkable contrast to his awkwardness with animals and tools.”
He also had a close relationship with his second child, Ellen Tucker Emerson. She was equally devoted to her father and never married. Instead, she served as his secretary and editor, as well as his housekeeper and caregiver.
Emerson’s parenting advice
In a letter to Ellen dated 1854, Emerson shared fatherly wisdom that encouraged her to move on from mistakes and live confidently. It’s advice that parents today may still find applicable when trying to instill confidence in their children.
He wrote, as quoted in A Memoir of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1887) by James Elliot Cabot:
“Finish every day and be done with it. For manners and for wise living it is a vice to remember. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. To-morrow is a new day; you shall begin it well and serenely, and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day for all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the rotten yesterdays.”
Emerson acknowledges that his daughter will make mistakes, but encourages her not to dwell on them for too long. Each day is a “new day,” and she can move forward with confidence without needing to be perfect.
Tips on raising confident kids
Parents can help their kids process mistakes and move forward without relying on the pressures of achievement and perfectionism. The American Psychological Association (APA) explains that this sense of being valued and supported is called “mattering.”
Mattering is defined as “the feeling of being valued to loved ones and communities, regardless of external evaluations of ‘success’.”
“Young people need to know that they can make a mistake or have a bad performance and they will still be cared about and accepted and perhaps even prized,” Gordon Flett, PhD, a research psychologist at York University in Toronto and author of Mattering as a Core Need in Children and Adolescents: Theoretical, Clinical, and Research Perspectives, told the APA.
To strengthen a sense of mattering, the APA recommends that parents try the following:
Spend engaged time with kids
The goal is to send kids the message that their worth is based on who they are, not what they do. Flett recommends that parents put away their phones and laptops during interactions to encourage better engagement and listening, helping kids feel heard and understood.
Normalize setbacks
This can be done by explaining to kids that mistakes are part of being human and that your love for them is not contingent on never making them.
“As soon as you make those things contingent on achievement, which is very easy to do in this culture, then kids start to learn very quickly that they’re only really worth something when they’ve done well, and they are a failure if they haven’t,” Thomas Curran, PhD, a social psychologist at the London School of Economics and author of The Perfection Trap, explained to the APA. “That creates a dependency on other people’s approval, which is a very quick way to perfectionism.”
Serve others
According to the APA, volunteering has been studied as a helpful way to build resilience and self-esteem while reducing the pressures of achievement. By focusing on the well-being of others, kids can also develop a stronger sense of usefulness and purpose.
“I would recommend to any parent who’s concerned about a child becoming a workaholic perfectionist who’s only focused on achievement [to] try to model going out there and being prosocial and finding some causes,” Flett said.
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Mom gives a tour of her typical ‘middle-class home’ and it’s exactly what people needed
A house tour we can all relate to.
Sure, it’s lovely to see pristine, perfectly curated homes that look like they belong in Architectural Digest. A little inspo never hurt anyone. But as we all know, the spotless life is simply not an achievable reality, especially for those with busy lives and limited budgets (read: most of us).
But you know what? Maybe even the messy homes deserve some love. The ones with constant junk piles, unfinished projects, dirty dishes, and misplaced toys. The homes that will never grace the cover of a magazine but still do a wonderful job of containing all the moments life has to offer—the big, small, extraordinary, mundane, and everywhere in between. ‘Cause at the end of the day, isn’t that a home’s true purpose anyway?
One mom decided to show it all, unfiltered
Stephanie Murphy, a mom and TikTok creator, seems to think so. Murphy took viewers on an “average house tour,” and it was the exact opposite of aspirational. Highlighted in Murphy’s tour are the pantry door that’s remained unpainted for three years, blinds held together with binder clips, air conditioners held in place by duct tape, a full dish rack tray that’s “a permanent fixture” on their countertops, and not one but two junk drawers (honestly, that’s a little low by my count). You’ll also notice a fridge that is covered in her kid’s artwork and school pictures. Not in any cohesive way, but merely thrown on randomly, as nature intended.
Meanwhile, in the master bedroom, Murphy and her husband have two separate blankets on their bed because neither of them like to share. A genius idea, and just another example of how we really, really don’t need to continue with marital sleeping norms that don’t actually feel comfortable.
Her reason for sharing it is everything
As for why Murphy decided to showcase her “average, middle-class house,” it’s all in the caption of her video: “Let’s normalize ‘average’ because there is nothing wrong with it. Everywhere you look on social media, you see big gorgeous houses in perfect condition and it’s hard not to compare yours to them. But it’s not the norm and half the time it’s staged. Our house is lived in, and it’s filled with love and tons of memories and at the end of the day that’s all that matters.”
She further explained her reasoning to Good Morning America. “I feel like social media is full of one perfectly curated video after another, and there is just so much pressure from social media to be perfect in all aspects — to have perfect skin, perfect makeup, perfect outfit, perfect house. And the reality is no one’s perfect,” Murphy said.
“Honestly, I feel like there’s a very good chance that all those videos that we see were staged and they probably like, moved a pile of toys behind the camera to film and then moved it back when they were done. But that’s the part that people on social media just aren’t sharing. They don’t show you the behind-the-scenes and that is what I was looking to change,” she continued.
People saw this and felt completely seen
Judging from the comments sections of this viral post, it seems like other people are ready for more average content.
“This is awesome! I’m constantly feeling inadequate when people have a perfect house that looks like nobody lives there!” one person wrote. “I feel seen,” added another.
Hear, hear. No need to feel inadequate about having a home that’s lived in. Imperfection has its own kind of beauty.
This article originally appeared three years ago. It has been updated.
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Kasai and Klarity on the rise, Emma on the outs in Social Security’s new baby-name rankings
Liam and Olivia remain unchallenged at number one.
As they do every year around Mother’s Day, the Social Security Administration released its list of the top 1,000 most popular baby names. The SSA is uniquely positioned to track the rise and fall of baby names because it collects information on every baby born in the United States.
The 2025 list found no major changes among the top 10 names for girls and boys. Olivia and Liam again held the number one spots in the rankings, as they have for the past seven years. The biggest changes were among girls’ names, where Charlotte rose to second place, ending Emma’s six-year run in the spot. Ava dropped out of the top 10 and was replaced by Eliana.
Three babies. Photo credit: Canva No big changes in the top 10s for 2025
No big changes for the boys, where the top four remained unchanged: Liam, Noah, Oliver, and Theodore.
Boys’ names
- Liam
- Noah
- Oliver
- Theodore
- Henry
- James
- Elijah
- Mateo
- William
- Lucas
Girls’ names
- Olivia
- Charlotte
- Emma
- Amelia
- Sophia
- Mia
- Isabella
- Evelyn
- Sofia
- Eliana
A crying baby. Photo credit: Canva When it comes to the names rising fastest in popularity, there were some decidedly unconventional choices rocketing up the charts. There also appears to be a clear trend toward names with a strong “K” sound.
Names that are rapidly gaining in popularity
Boys’ names
- Kasai
- Akari
- Eziah
- Jasai
- Neithan
Girls’ names
- Klarity
- Rynlee
- Ailanny
- Naylani
- Madisson
A happy baby. Photo credit: Canva Kasai made the greatest leap among boys’ names, moving up 1,108 spots on the list to land at 639. Kasai means “fire” in both Japanese and Swahili. Although the name is a fast mover in the boys’ category, it has also been used as a girls’ name. It’s believed that the name is rising in popularity due to actress Skai Jackson naming her baby Kasai and the popularity of entrepreneur and rapper Kasai Guthrie.
Klarity’s origins are a bit more obvious: it’s “Clarity” with a twist, spelled with a K instead of a C. “A rediscovered virtue name with a modern makeover, Klarity has the zippy sounds of Felicity along with the familiar feel of Kate, Katie, Kitty, and Klara,” Nameberry writes.
Akari is another name with Japanese origins, meaning “star” or, depending on how it’s written, “moon,” “bright,” “light,” or “red jewel.” It’s a rapidly rising boys’ name, but it’s also used for girls.
Rynlee is a modern construction that follows the current trend of using popular names, such as Ryan, and adding a -lee or -leigh suffix. Alternative spellings include Rynleigh and Rinlee.
Another unique name is Jasai. It’s a modern take on the traditional name “Jason” and may have ancient Hindi or Sanskrit origins, meaning “victory” or “achievement.” On the girls’ side, Ailanny appears to be a recent creation centered on the opening sound “Ai,” which is often associated with love and affection.
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Pregnant journalist spun around to smack her co-host. But he wasn’t the one who poked her.
“Oh… I am sorry, I got kicked, and I thought you poked me. I was ready to swat you.”
Janai Norman (@janai) was about to go on-air with her ABC News co-host Kenneth Moton when she felt something poke her pregnant belly. Hard.
She spun around at full speed, ready to smack Moton for messing with her. Then she realized he was standing several feet away, completely innocent, and had no idea what was happening.
“Oh… I am sorry, I got kicked, and I thought you poked me. I was ready to swat you,” Norman said, seconds before dissolving into laughter.
The baby had kicked so hard it felt exactly like someone pressing a finger into her belly. Moton cracked up. “The baby is like, ‘Watch this,’” he joked.
Norman shared the throwback moment on TikTok on March 30, and the video has been viewed 5.8 million times. The comments are full of other pregnant people confirming that yes, some kicks absolutely feel like someone jabbing you from the outside.
“I know exactly which kind of ‘poke’ kick she felt! It’s not a normal baby kick! It legit feels like a big finger poke,” one person wrote.
Another said, “I know exactly what that kick felt like lol. I don’t even know if it’s a kick or some weird placenta movement, but it happens sometimes when I yawn or stretch. It feels like something poked you hard as f**k. It makes me jump every time.”
Someone else confessed, “Every time my baby would kick me, I always thought my phone was getting a notification, lol.”
One commenter pointed out that Norman’s instant protective reaction was actually kind of sweet: “She’s going to be a great mom; she went right into protector mode.”
The whole thing happened in the span of maybe three seconds, but it perfectly captures one of the weirder parts of being pregnant. Your body does things you have zero control over, and sometimes those things are so startling you almost clock your coworker on live television.
Moton dodged a bullet. The baby, meanwhile, was probably just stretching.
Follow Janai Norman (@janai) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.
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Mom admits she isn’t perfect in a hilarious self-made ‘back-to-school’ sign
She was exhausted before the first bell rang.
Every year, back-to-school season brings new school supplies, a trip to Target for clothes, and social media channels flooded with photos of kids holding chalkboards. Over the past decade, back-to-school photos with kids standing on their doorsteps with signs with their name, grade, year, and teacher have been ubiquitous on social media.
There’s nothing wrong with the photos, they’re a cute way for parents and kids to mark the passage of time. For most parents, it’s a way to remember that it all goes by way too fast. However, for the “perfect” parents out there who like to flaunt their Instagrammable lifestyle, they’re another way to show off their “flawless” first days on social media.
One mom said what we were all thinking
In an attempt to show parents they don’t have to fall for the myth of perfection on social media, Jeni Bukolt, a mother of two boys from Waxhaw, North Carolina, posted a first-day photo of herself looking burnt out and wearing sunglasses. School hadn’t even begun yet.
“Mom’s first day of school,” the handmade sign read. “I am 42 years tired. I’ll probably miss a school ‘theme’ day. I really like sleep. Please don’t ask me to volunteer. But I will buy you supplies.”
“I make signs for my kids each year but lately I’ve thought about how I always feel behind, as though I’m failing (in some way),” Bukolt told Today. Clearly, other parents feel the same because it was a hit with a lot of them on Instagram.
A lot of comments were from parents who thought the photo was a breath of fresh air during a stressful time of year. “Brilliant, you speak for millions!” cathycole wrote. “May we all survive the drop off/pick up lane,” merakifitnessandpole added.
“I thought maybe if I can create a lighthearted moment, some other moms will laugh and understand we’re all in this kind of struggle together. Like, let’s have empathy for each other,” Bukolt told Good Morning America.
Bukolt hopes her post builds an “empathy bridge” between parents. She’d also like to shine a little reality on the parents who feel judged on social media.
“I also feel like when you look at social media, there’s all these, [picture perfect] worlds,” she added. “It’s not the true story. And some people think like, ‘Oh, they have it better or they’re perfect,’ and this is an opportunity to say no, we’re all real human beings … we’re all in the struggle together.”
Not everyone thought it was funny
But of course, there were some humorless parents who thought her post wasn’t supportive of teachers or her two sons. So Bukolt made a follow-up where she explained that she was just having fun.
“For the keyboard warriors… yes I do have a job, yes I love my kids and no, I don’t hate teachers. Back to work. Have a great day!” she wrote.
She kept it going the next year too
The next year, Bukolt returned with another sign where she said she’s “43 years tired,” has a “new sleep routine,” and please don’t ask her to do any math. “Liam asked me about division last night. I know that common core math should be easier, but apparently I am NOT smarter than a 4th grader,” she joked in the comments.
Parenting is hard and we all fall short of glory at times. Kudos to Bukolt for making us feel a little less alone and letting us know that some folks have already accepted their imperfections on the first day.
“If other moms can get a good laugh about it, then that makes my heart happy,” she said.
This article originally appeared four years ago. It has been updated.
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Baby twins separated for the first time steal an adorable secret nighttime reunion
There’s nothing like the bond between twins.
If you’ve ever spent a significant amount of time with twins, you know that no other relationship compares. My husband has twin brothers, and one of those brothers had twin daughters (busting the twins-skip-a-generation myth), so our family is quite familiar with the twin bond.
Over and over, we’ve watched with amusement as one adult twin will move across the country for one reason or another, with the other twin eventually, but inevitably, following them. Twins redefine the word “inseparable,” which makes sense since they’ve literally been together since before they were even born.
This baby monitor video says it all
Nowhere is that bond more apparent than in a video of twin babies at the end of their first day of separation ever.
In a TikTok video shared by @thattwinmama back in 2023, we see black-and-white footage from a baby monitor showing baby twin sisters standing in adjacent cribs.
“Our twins were separated for a day for the first time in their entire lives…” the video text reads. “That night we put them down leaving them alone for the first time in over 24 hours. And pretty sure it’s safe to say they definitely missed each other.”
Watch how the baby girls cuddle and love on one another with the sweetest tenderness.
The head kiss? The back pat? Come on. It doesn’t get any cuter than that.
They still have that special bond today
And in case you were wondering, that fierce love is still going strong, as seen in these later videos from the account:
Science backs up what we already knew
There truly is nothing like the bond between twins. There have even been documented cases of twins who were separated at birth and who ended up having the same traits and making similar life choices later in life. It’s a relationship only twins themselves get to experience, but anyone who is a friend or family member of twins has to try to understand it if they truly want to know them because it’s such a unique and inseparable part of their identity.
This article originally appeared three years ago. It has been updated.
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