+
Videos

These toddler twins giggling through their first trip to Target is pure bliss

Target, moms, kids

Twin toddlers giggle with delight on their first trip to Target.

If I thought I was alone in this opinion, I might be a little embarrassed. But countless conversations with other moms in my two decades of parenting tell me I'm not.

Target is magical. It just is. Target is like the Disneyland of big box stores. The Happiest Retail Store on Earth.

It's not that the stuff it sells is remarkably better than any other retail outlet. It's not that the prices are amazing or that the store feels particularly luxurious. It's just … satisfying. Especially when you're a parent constantly trying to keep your house organized while children follow you around undoing everything you've done.

Target has everything you need, more than enough of it and has it all perfectly displayed in neat rows. That's true of a lot of stores, of course, but Target somehow does it better. Maybe it's the lighting? Maybe it's how forward-thinking the company is? Who knows. All I know is that a trip to Target alone is a legitimate form of self-care.

To illustrate, check out these toddler twins on their first trip to Target. They are all of us, squealing with delight at the magic that is Target.


@savyjane

It’s @target right? 🎯 #myheros #preemiestrong #micropreemie #medicalmom #thattwinlife #twins #laughter #smiletoday #foryourpage #fyp

Those Gremlin-like giggles of unbridled joy? That's what I hear on the inside when I walk through the aisles of Target. Every time.

TikTok user @savyjane shared the video, calling the boys Thing 1 and Thing 2 (a shout out to Dr. Seuss) and writing, "POV: You and your twin are immunocompromised former micropreemies and you experience the happiest place on earth for the first time…ever."

The commenters loved it. Target even responded, saying, "My Target heart just grew three sizes." Awww.

"If this isn't the next Target commercial, I don't want it…this is pure joy," wrote one commenter.

"This is how I feel whenever I go to Target too," wrote another. (See? Not just me.)

And another: "Girl, this is how Target makes ME feel, too." (Seriously, it's a thing.)

"Me at Target every single time. Too precious." (Yup.)

Some of the comments pointed to the fact that the boys were immunocompromised, urging people to take COVID mitigation measures.

"I wear my mask for sweet babies like them," wrote one person.

"THIS is who we get vaccinated for," wrote another. "So happy they're getting to experience new things!"

The pandemic has been hard on all of us, but for parents of kids who are at higher risk and who haven't been able to get vaccinated, it's been particularly stressful. Most kids fare okay if they get COVID-19, but there are lots of children with health conditions that make the virus something to avoid at all costs.

Imagining these sweet babies ill is just too much. Not when there's this much joy to be had with them and from them.

Can you picture these two at actual Disneyland? They're giddy over the diaper shelves at Target, for goodness sake. Please, @savyjane, pleeeeeaase take these cherubs to an amusement park and mic them up so we can live vicariously through their delight. Do it for the good of humanity. Our weary world needs this ASAP.

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo by Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash

Let's talk about what makes people read articles.

The adage, "If it bleeds, it leads," refers to the media's tendency to headline stories involving death or violence, but it can also be used to point to people's negativity bias. Simply put, people tend to pay more attention to negative news stories than positive ones.

A new study seems to reinforce this idea. And much to our surprise, it's centered on headlines used in Upworthy stories.

Using a public archive of Upworthy headlines and traffic data from 2012 to 2015, two separate teams of researchers analyzed whether people's click tendencies changed with negative or positive words in headlines. In those olden days of Upworthy, a handful of headlines for a single story were tested on the website to see which one would receive the most clicks. The research teams analyzed those results and found that negative words in headlines led to more people clicking on a story (2.3% more), and positive words in headlines led to fewer clicks (1.0% fewer). They also found a preference for headlines that express sadness over those that express joy, fear or anger.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Woman was mocked online for calling an $80 purse a 'luxury item.' Her response went viral.

"I'm so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”

@zohtaco/TikTok

Zoe Gabriel, showing off her new purse from Charles & Keith

Insults of any kind are painful, but jabs towards someone’s financial status are their own breed.

In January 2023, Singapore-based Zoe Gabriel was on the receiving end of this particular flavor of mockery when she posted a TikTok about a purse from local retail brand Charles & Keith—a gift bought for her by her father.

In her excitement, the 17-year-old called the bag, which costs around $80, a “luxury” item as she unwrapped it. Her excitement was sadly cut short by some of the negative comments she received.

One comment seemed to stand out above the rest and prompted Gabriel to post an emotional response video.

Keep ReadingShow less

Samantha Moriá Reynolds's advice on sick children.

It's cold and flu seasons, folks. During this time of year, we're all on a mission to avoid the demon viruses that threaten to invade our bodies and wage Armageddon on our immune systems.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

A doctor specializing in child development shares 5 of her most surprising parenting tips

"How To Discipline Your Child So They Actually Learn" is one of her more popular videos.

via drkristynsommer / TikTok

Parenting is the most important job that most people will ever have in life. Your decisions as a parent will be some of the most important determining factors in whether your child becomes a happy and productive adult or not. It's a huge responsibility.

Parenting is a difficult and important undertaking, but many parents simply repeat the same strategies used by their parents. How often do we hear people rationalize their decisions by saying, "That's what my parents did and I came out ok."

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

RuPaul's Drag Race 'Footloose' parody gets high praise from Kevin Bacon himself

When the OG Ren McCormack approves, you know you're in for something good.

RuPaul's Drag Race/Youtube, Wikipedia

Loosey LaDuca performing as Heaven Bacon for "Wigloose: A Rusical"

Fans of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” are well acquainted with the “Rusical” segment, but in case this word seems like something out of Dr. Seuss, here’s a brief explainer: A Rusical is a challenge on the show where contestants put on a live parody drag musical. Since debuting in Season 6, the Rusical has become a beloved staple of the series, with some of the most popular titles being “Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical,” “HERstory of the World” and “Moulin Ru: The Rusical.”

For Episode 12, the queens drew inspiration from the 1984 movie “Footloose” to tell a story about a small town that prohibits drag rather than dancing. The performance got a sweet seal of approval from the OG Ren McCormack himself.
Keep ReadingShow less