A mother of 3 named Stacey (@StaceyCKs1 on X) realized that a bottle of Grey Goose vodka she had was slowly being emptied, but she hadn’t taken a sip. So she thought it must be one of her children, ages 14, 17 and 23, taking some sneaky sips of her stash.
The funny thing is that anyone who has been a teenager knows that after you take some of the vodka from your parents’ bottle, you replace the amount with water so no one notices you drank some. Until, of course, your parents take a sip and immediately realize it’s been watered down. But whoever was pouring shots from Stacy’s bottle didn’t even worry about getting caught.
Stacey approached her 3 kids to find out which one had been drinking her vodka. The response she got was unexpected, to say the least. It was her 14-year-old daughter, but she wasn’t using the vodka to get drunk.
“Noticed that my vodka supply was dwindling,” she wrote on Twitter. “Confronted 23 and 17, who pointed the finger at 14, who guiltily confessed to making penne allá vodka ‘several times’ over the last month. Didn’t believe her, watched her execute it flawlessly. I guess it’s a TikTok thing?”
The teenager didn’t even try to hide the fact that she was cooking with the vodka. She didn’t “guilty confess”; she “answered the question,” Stackey remarked in the tweet thread. “She wasn’t trying to hide what she was doing. These kids are different than we were.”
She wants it known that she didn’t “guiltily confess” to anything. “I just answered the question.”
Sorrrrrry. My bad. — StaceyCKS (@StaceyCKs1) August 26, 2024
To verify that the teen wasn’t lying, Stacey asked her to make some penne allá vodka and the teen “crushed it.” Some people in the comments wondered why she didn’t notice her daughter making elaborate meals in the kitchen. Stacey said the cooking happened while she was working or on the phone and that she doesn’t like pasta. Her daughter also made the meals in the morning to take to school for lunch.
Stacey shared a screenshot of her daughter’s delicious dish.
I risked it all, taking a screenshot of a Snapchat message she sent me. She made it again after school yesterday. It’s her current “hyper fixation” meal. pic.twitter.com/2nKbrbyfq3 — StaceyCKS (@StaceyCKs1) August 27, 2024
The mother also shared the recipe for the curious:
A shallot and some garlic sweated in olive oil and a tablespoon of butter, a can of tomato paste, some Calibri chilies, maybe 10 ounces of sand Marzano tomatoes, 2 cups of heavy cream, a cup of fresh parm, 2 tablespoons of vodka.
One person on Twitter had a problem with the teenager using supplies in the house without asking permission. They also had an issue with kids learning how to cook on TikTok. But Stacey wasn’t dealing with any parenting criticism.
Still, shouldn't be cooking with alcohol without asking you first. The problem with social media is kid thinks because someone puts it on TikTok it: a) means it is okay b) means it is right c) ENTITLES them to do it.
14 can't replenish the vodka, so should ask permission.— Colin Ward (@WardProWords) August 26, 2024
It’s believed that Gen Z’s recent fascination with penne allá vodka started when Gigi Hadid shared her spicy version of the recipe on Instagram in 2020. Since then, the dish has been called a TikTok “obsession.”
The dish’s ubiquity was lampooned on “Saturday Night Live” earlier this year in a sketch, where a “big a**” aluminum platter can be found at just about any significant gathering, whether it’s a wedding, bridal shower, or retirement party.
“A big a** aluminum tray of penne alla vodka [is] loved by none, but tolerated by all,” Andrew Dismukes says in the sketch accompanied by his bride, Chloe Fineman, who adds, “Because it’s not that good, but it’s not that bad either.”
“It may not stay hot, but it never gets all the way cold,” Keenaan Thompson says, playing a man at his retirement party.
The story of Stacey and her pasta-loving daughter is a perfect example of a recent significant change in American culture: Young people drink much less than they used to. Stacey, who appears to be an older Millenial or younger Gen X, comes from an era when the majority of teens drank alcohol. However, things have changed.
A report in The Conversation has found that the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds who drank alcohol “in the last week” fell from 67% in 2002 to 37% in 2021. The change is part of a generational trend where younger people are more risk-averse than older generations. Gen Zers are also less likely to smoke and have sex than previous generations.
If you’re a parent of a teenager in 2204 and your vodka starts going missing, maybe it’s time to check and see if your stash of penne is on the decline as well because your kid is probably more likely to be a secret chef than a drinker.
A Somali refugee and current resident of Minneapolis, the multimedia artist and activist draws on her lived experiences to create work that explores trauma, displacement, and resilience. But like so many of the guests on Freedom to Thrive, an award-winning podcast produced by the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Mansour doesn’t want to focus only on trauma; she also wants to celebrate the unexpected beauty she’s found during difficult experiences.
“One of the beautiful things about tragedies is that it activates hearts, and courageous people are born,” she says. For example, Mansour has noticed more Minnesotans than ever are reaching out to help the vulnerable, after the anti-immigrant crackdowns carried out by the Department of Homeland Security. “They are bringing food, they’re bringing extra clothes, they’re walking with people, and it’s just really beautiful.”
Hector Flores, co-founder of the Las Cafeteras and host of Freedom to Thrive, agrees with her. A child of immigrants himself, he has also seen how hope and hardship often live side by side.
Flores comes from a family with mixed status and is highly aware of the challenges immigrants and refugees in his community face, and how they’re affected by people’s misconceptions. “People want to know about trauma all the time, but we’re more than just undocumented,” he says. “We’re artists, singers, creatives … there’s so much richness in the culture.”
At its core, Flores’ comment is exactly what the Freedom to Thrive podcast is all about: Celebrating immigrants as complex, dynamic individuals, and challenging the dominant narrative that too often reduces them to symbols of hardship.
Launched in 2024, Freedom to Thrive explores heritage, resilience, community, and the ways art and comedy can spark social change. Now in its second season, the podcast continues to feature conversations with immigrants, policymakers, artists, musicians, activists, and more. Recent guests have included comedian Mo Amer, Grammy Award-winning singer Lila Downs, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Where the first season focused on individual stories of identity and belonging, Flores says his goal for season two, where he joins as host, is to “take it to the next level” — using storytelling to highlight “the fact that we’re more similar than different.”
One recent podcast episode drives this point home. In December, Flores interviewed Bryan Andrews, a rising country music star and rural Missouri native who frequently uses his platform to speak about issues affecting immigrant families. At the heart of his message and his songwriting, Andrews says, is the idea that small-town Americans and the rest of the country, including immigrants, have more in common than they realize.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from,” Andrews says on the podcast. “We’re all trying to make a living and we’re tired of getting railroaded by corporate greed or by politicians who don’t care.”
Rural Americans, Andrews says, are often stereotyped as racist and misogynistic but “the overwhelming majority of people in my home town have love in their hearts.” Media stereotypes often amplify differences and divide, he says, but at the end of the day, “we’re all in this together.”
Flores, who was raised in a working-class immigrant neighborhood in East Los Angeles, had similar thoughts. He says he often sees its residents stereotyped as wealthy, consumerist, and status obsessed. “That exists, but that’s not my life, that’s not my community,” he says. Like small-town Americans, people in the city “just want to work hard and take care of their families. We all want the same thing.”
Although the podcast tackles some heavy issues, each episode’s ultimate focus is how personal and collective struggles can be healed through art, driving home a message of hope and resilience:
Mansour’s episode about her experiences in Minnesota is just one of many examples. Flores asks her,
“What gives you hope for the people creating a home here?”
“The love I feel from other Minnesotans. It is trumping any hate we’re experiencing,” she replies.
CTA: Stream all episodes now on the Freedom to ThriveYouTube channel or the website,here.
The podcast has been nominated for a Webby in the “Belonging & Inclusion” category. You can vote for it to win until Thursday, April 16!
This article is part of Upworthy’s “The Threads Between U.S.” series that highlights what we have in common thanks to the generous support from the Levis Strauss Foundation, whose grantmaking is committed to creating a culture of belonging.
Parents today share responsibilities more equally than in past generations, but studies show childcare still falls disproportionately on women’s shoulders. Some families choose one parent to take on the lion’s share of child-rearing and/or domestic duties, and if that works, great. Other couples work similar hours and have to figure out how to equally split home duties, but however the household is structured, mothers most often tend to be the “default parent” and household manager.
That means it’s mostly moms who are constantly thinking about managing the million little details of parenting. The big things like feeding, bathing, transporting, teaching life lessons, and such are fairly easy to share equitably. But the invisible work: keeping track of routine doctor and dentist appointments, communicating with teachers and caregivers, keeping extended family updated, figuring out what clothes to keep and get rid of as kids outgrow them, keeping the family calendar up-to-date, and more. That’s all part of the “mental load” of parenting that moms tend to carry, often without their partners even being aware they’re doing it.
That’s why one dad’s confession after getting a taste of solo parenting has gotten a huge reaction. Cedric Thompson, Jr., a former NFL player and dad of three daughters, shared a video explaining that he didn’t really understand the mental load his wife was carrying until she went to visit family in the Philippines for eight days, leaving him home alone with the kids.
“I’ve been a single dad for 8 days because my wife is in the Philippines and I had no idea it was this tough,” he said with a sleeping child cradled in his arms. He explained that he was prepared for the cleaning, the transporting kids back and forth, the unexpected sickness, the feeding, and the sleeping. “But one thing I was not prepared for was the mental load,” he said. “I had no idea it felt like this. To think about things that need to be done that haven’t been done or things that I need to plan to do is so draining that I don’t even have the energy to take care of myself at all.”
This is why dads need to step into moms’ shoes once in a while
“And now that I understand this, I have so much empathy for my wife,” he said, “and I truly understand what she means by this ‘mental load’ and how draining it is. This has really opened my eyes and made me ask myself, what more can I be doing? What has been going on that I haven’t been seeing and it’s right in front of me? How can I step up the way that my wife needs me to instead of doing things that I think are helping?”
“I know I can’t always take the mental load away, but I can definitely make it lighter.”
There’s a significant difference between assisting and managing, and when you’re the sole parent for a while, you’re forced to take on the management role. Eight days isn’t very long, but it’s enough to get a taste of being the one who has to think about all the things all day. It’s a lot. As Thompson wrote in the caption, “The endless planning, remembering, and organizing is exhausting in ways I never understood before. The most profound lessons come when we walk in someone else’s shoes, even if just for a little while.”
Some people asked what he’s been doing this whole time when his wife is home, but it seems some of those folks might be missing the point. This is an involved dad and husband, not a slouch. But even those who want to and try to share the load equally don’t always know how to help with the mental load of the default parent because it’s mostly internal. And trying to explain it and figuring out how to ask for help with some of it just adds more work, not to mention we don’t even always know ourselves what we need help with. Stepping into the shoes of the default parent is really the best way to get a feel for what might be helpful without adding more to their plate.
The “mental load” is invisible, so it’s nice to have it seen and validated
Some commenters weighed in with thoughts and tips for lightening the mental load:
“How do men not understand their wife’s workload and bandwidth while literally sleeping next to her and living in the same house? Does she really have to leave the country for him to understand her contributions? Men have to do better.”Pro tip: when your wife asks you what she should make for dinner, she’s trying to share the mental load with you. So just give her a straightforward answer.”
“I love this…it’s called validation, empathy, and love Thank you for sharing this. The realization and verbalization of it makes the load lighter. Sometimes mental heaviness is worse than the physical.”
“Really appreciate this post and how you explained yourself. The ‘mental load’ is that never-ending list running through our minds every single minute of the day. It’s the constant inner monologue of everything that needs to get done, the overwhelming pressure of how to get it all done, and the invisible timeline that gives you anxiety when you don’t meet it—even though you set those standards yourself.
It’s the feeling of failing if you don’t check every box. Walking into a room and forgetting why you’re there, only to lose your mind later when you finally remember—but now you’ve got ten other tasks at hand. It’s the frustration when you realize that everything you just cleaned is already dirty again.
Sometimes, it’s not even about what men do or don’t do; it’s the weight of our own thoughts that get to us. But when someone helps lighten that load, even just a little, it means everything.”
“I love this. But to answer your question, the way you take the mental load away is you pretend you have to do it alone even when she comes back. Because that’s the reason she has mental load. Because she feels like she has to do most of it alone, even if you’re always there to “help”. That’s why I hate the word help. It implies that this is all her job. You’re doing well but keep digging deeper I do appreciate this post.”
What exactly does the parental “mental load” entail? Here’s a partial list.
And yes, there is a need to go deeper. As one commenter pointed out, “You are operating the day to day under a structure she put in place,” so a lot of the mental work was already done before she even left. And parenting is a marathon, not a sprint, so getting familiar with a specific list of “mental load” items that non-default parents might not think about can be helpful. Someone offered this helpful—if utterly daunting—list of some of those items:
“Planning teacher gifts for the holidays and the end of school. – getting that parent’s contact info for that play date. – researching, budgeting, and scheduling summer activities and when to sign up for them the January/Feb prior. – finding that in network pediatric ophthalmologist for an eye appt. Research that new dentist, schedule your kids vaccines, review the medical records, schedule that well child visit. – researching, scheduling, and budgeting the school and extracurricular schedule in the summer for the fall and in October for the winter/spring. – making time to be the family historian (researching, budgeting, and scheduling a family photographer 2 times a year, researching how to pick/buy outfits for the whole family, selecting and printing any prints, creating and ordering a photo book, organizing photo files, and physically organizing keepsake storage).
Teaching your kids about their heritage with activities. Research your family tree. – be the memory maker and plan fun activities for the family. Book those theater tickets, schedule that museum trip, plan that day trip to hike that waterfall, plan that vacation, schedule 3 farm trips a year, prep for activities leading up to the holidays. – 4 times a year audit your household belongings. What do you need to sell? What do you need to donate? What remaining needs a better storage system? Research the products that will help you stay organized and buy them. follow home organizers on social media. – Check your kids shoes. How are they fitting? Research and order/consign new clothing. – trim your kids nails once a week and cut their hair as needed (or schedule their hair appt). – plan your kids birthday party 2 months in advance, research activities, food, party favors, and decor ideas. create the invites and send them out 5 weeks in advance. 2 weeks in advance order the cupcakes, decor, party outfit, and gift wrapping.
Check in with guests food allergies, rsvps, and buy the gifts. 1 week in advance wrap the gifts, assemble the party favors, and take some cute photos of the birthday kid in their special outfit. Pack a bin of supplies you’ll need for the day of the party (scissors, wire and cutters, tape, paper goods, trash bags, matches, etc). – buy those tickets to your kids concert. – keep that first aid kit stocked up. – keep up weekly with school/teacher correspondence and volunteer at your kids school. – back to school shopping. – holiday planning.
Buy Halloween costumes at the end of September, plan a pumpkin farm day trip. Schedule any Halloween parties. The weekend before carve pumpkins. Take pictures day of. Buy nutcracker tix in October/ November, plan gifts, budget, and order. Research decor ideas, get desired supplies, and make them in Nov. meal plan and coordinate with family for thanksgiving. Set up decor and buy gifts, Christmas outfits, and wrapping supplies Black Friday. Wrap gifts, take kids out separately to pick out presents for their siblings. Research and schedule holiday outings as a family. Take pictures. Design, order, and send cards. Meal plan. Coordinate with the relatives.
Buy valentines cards for your kids class at the end of Jan. – talk to your kids about safety and abuse prevention 2-6 times a year in addition to “as needed”. – read the latest parenting books, listen to parenting podcasts, follow parenting accounts on social media. – plan kids craft projects. – take your kids to the library and keep up with the borrowed books. rsvp, order, and wrap a birthday gift for all the kid birthday parties. Write a nice note in a card about the child. – write thank you notes after birthdays, end of school, end of activities, after the holidays, and as needed.”
There you go. Not even an exhaustive list, but a solid start. Thanks to Ced for the reminder that the more we start putting ourselves in other people’s shoes as parents and partners, the better off the whole family will be.
The decision to have, or not have, children is complex and deeply personal. There are countless factors to consider, including finances, lifestyle, and your individual values.
Many people who’ve weighed all the options find themselves pretty certain they don’t want to have children. But one stubborn societal myth sticks in their craw and gives some of them pause: the idea that people without children will inevitably die alone.
It’s dark, heavy, and a little difficult to think about. It also happens to be completely false—at least, according to someone who works with death up close every single day.
Viral post resurfaces
A viral Reddit post on the topic was recently resurfaced by popular childfree influencer and organizer Zoë Noble, who shared it on Instagram.
“For two decades I have been a professional who works with older adults. People in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, even over 100,” Noble reads from the post.
The original poster, a senior living and hospice care worker, wrote about how narcissistic parents who are estranged from their children are often alone in their dying days. But the post also piqued the curiosity—and fears—of the childfree community.
“Multiple times in this post, child free adults have expressed their fear that this is their future: dying alone because they have no children,” Noble reads. “Speaking from two decades of caring for older adults, I have worked with many child free adults who spent the final years, months, and days of their life surrounded by a loving and caring community. … Having a loving community around you who cares about you is more importantthan whether you have kids or not.”
“I’ve served many child free people who were doted on by a number of significant people in their life,” Noble continues. “They received excellent care and had devoted advocates. They were doing better than folks down the hall who did have children, 5 or 6 kids even. I promise.”
The post’s message is both a powerful myth-buster and a source of comfort for many.
Contrary to popular belief, most people who choose not to have children of their own free will do not come to regret it later in life.
“The takeaway from all this isn’t that having kids is good or bad–it’s that there is no one way to live a happy and fulfilled life,” The Guardian‘s Arwa Mahdawi writes of these research findings. “Parenthood isn’t for everyone and it should always be a choice.”
“Cold regret”
People without children are more likely to experience what Noble calls a fleeting feeling of “cold regret.”
“They might sometimes fantasise about how their life would have turned out if they’d had children, and the special moments they’re missing out on – while still knowing they made the right choice for themselves and their life,” she writes.
Some may be sure of their decision but still have a gnawing fear in the back of their minds about their final days. More commonly, “you’ll die alone” is used as a threat or warning to childfree people about remorse that rarely comes.
The social media post received nearly one million views, and Noble runs a large community of childfree adults who were eager to weigh in.
“I am a death doula and hospice volunteer and have seen first hand that having children does NOT guarantee having people around when you die. The absolute most important thing is the community that someone has built around them. … Family relationships are a bit more complicated and fraught with complex issues that don’t always guarantee presence.”
“I am a hospice nurse and I second this 100%! Some people I’ve cared for that didn’t have children had a more loving and supportive group of people around them toward end of life than people with kids. Community and friendship matters.”
The message even resonated with parents—a reminder that a lifelong, loving relationship with our children is far from guaranteed if we’re not willing to put in the effort.
“Beautifully said. I do have children, and I still couldn’t agree more with your sentiments. It’s all about investing in your relationships and your community. Sadly, many people are disconnected from their own children.. due to not investing in a relationship with them.”
Crucially, a tight-knit, loving community that will show up for you in your final days is not something people—childfree or otherwise—stumble into. It has to be intentionally built over time.
“The difference is not whether you have children. The difference is whether you have a community of people who care about you and will show up for you,” Noble reads from the Reddit post. “The way to build this community is to show up for them, consistently, for the next few years and as long as you are able. Invest in people and relationships. Grow bonds of companionship and trust. It doesn’t matter who; only that you like and trust each other.”
It’s good advice for anyone who may be afraid of dying alone, whether you have no children or a whole gaggle of them. It’s also the kind of reassuring embrace some people need to make the decision they know in their hearts is right for them.
Almost every long term relationship suffers from a rut eventually. That goes especially for married partners who become parents and have the added responsibility of raising kids. Maintaining a connection is hard enough in this busy, fast-paced world. Top it off with making sure kids are awake, dressed, entertained, well fed, oh yeah, and alive…and you best believe all you have energy for at the end of the day is sitting on the couch barely making it through one episode of your favorite show on Netflix.
And yet, we know how important it is to maintain a connection with our spouses. Many of us just don’t know how to make that happen while juggling a million other things. According to one mom, a “three-hour night” could be just the thing to tick off multiple boxes on the to-do list while rekindling romance at the same time. Talk about the ultimate marriage hack.
The three-hour night was something that Rachel Higgins and her husband began incorporating into their lives back in early 2024. And so far, “it’s been so fun and such…a game changer for how our evenings go,” she says in a clip posted to TikTok.
Before using the three-hour night, the evening would look a bit like this: their daughter would go to bed, they would lounge on the couch, scroll through social media, then fall asleep. Sound familiar?
But with a three-hour night, Higgins and her husband divvy up the time before bed into three sections, each for a different focus. In the first hour, starting around 7 p.m., is what Higgins calls “productive time,” during which the couple sees to any household chores that might need to be done.
if you’re stuck in a rut with your evenings try this! i saw someone do something similar to this a while ago but can’t remember who! #marriage#1sttimeparents#newyearsgoals
“So, start with like a quick cleanup of the kitchen or just like things that accumulated throughout the day, and then we try to do something that either … has been being put off or cleaning the bathroom or like organizing the pantry or hall closet or something like, super random like sharpening the knives. Anything that’s productive for the household,” she explains.
Next, the second hour is geared towards re-establishing a physical or emotional connection in their marriage. The phones go away, and they focus only on enjoying one another.
“So, that could be things like showering together or ‘having fun’ together, playing a game together, or just like anything that’s gonna get you guys talking and connecting or like debriefing from the day or just like talking about what you’re doing and like the plans for tomorrow or like how work’s going or whatever. So, anything that’s gonna connect and strengthen and build your marriage,” Higgins says.
Lastly, the final hour of the night is dedicated to anything Higgins and her husband individually want to do, any sort of personal recharge activity. Since this is a judgment-free time, Higgins states that “If you just want to lie on the couch and scroll your phone and watch TikToks or whatever, like watch YouTube videos,” it’s totally acceptable.
But can you really do this every night?
Higgins’ novel approach definitely interested viewers, who chimed in with their own questions. One major concern was how the heck this could be done every night. But even Higgins admits that she and her husband don’t succeed at having a three-hour night every night—they usually try for about 3-4 times a week. And honestly, even once a week could still probably be beneficial in building intimacy.
“Such a good idea. Good for us empty nesters too! The phone scrolling is outta control!” one commenter wrote. “This is really cool. The housework is equal. The emotional connection is equal and the self care is equal. No room for resentment,” another added. “We don’t have kids yet but I love this and want to do it because the nights slip away so fast!!” a commenter added.
Others wondered how to have a three-hour night when things randomly popped up in their schedule, like when kids won’t magically go to sleep promptly at 7pm. Higgins shares that in these cases, they tend to just shorten each phase. The point being: these can and probably should be customizable, even fun, rather than yet another rigid chore.
Making your relationship a priority
Plus, a three-hour night (or whatever your version of a three-hour night may be) is a great way to remind yourself just how high a priority your relationship has in your life, no matter what else is going on at the time. Odds are you’ll probably find you do have more time for it than you previously thought.
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
Babies can’t talk. This isn’t something that needs to be studied and researched, it’s a pretty common fact of human existence. The reasons babies cry is because they can’t talk to tell us what they need, at least that’s what the general understanding has been for centuries. Not only their brains, but their bodies lack the development and coordination needed to form complete words and sentences.
But what if some babies could talk and we simply haven’t been exposed to them because the world is so big? Thanks to social media, the world has gotten a whole lot smaller when it comes to being able to take a peek into other people’s lives. This means we get to be exposed to things that may otherwise gone unseen.
Wait, did that baby just talk?
Mekeia, a mom of two, uploaded a video of her then 3-month-old son talking. Not the cute baby babble that we like to call talking, but repeating actual short sentences.
Mekeia was recording her daughter playing with the baby when they captured the moment on video.
The little girl holds the baby’s face and says, “say I am two months,” before Mekeia corrects her, “say I am three months,” the little girl pipes back up. Clearly the baby was trying to join in the conversation with what was expected to be baby babble when the mom instructed the older child to let the baby have a chance to “talk.” It was then that the baby shocked everyone by sounding like he repeated the same phrase.
The two are visibly and audibly shocked not wanting to believe the baby actually repeats what the other child says. Mekeia is on the phone with a friend when the entire thing happens. Presumably thinking this is a fluke, the mom attempts to put the phone up to the baby’s mouth. When he just babbles, she tells the baby, “say hey Bam.” Nothing. Just more babble and drool.
This was no fluke
Just when you think your ears were playing tricks on you, the baby does it again when the mom tells him to say, “hey Quintin.” Clearly the baby still sounds like a baby but you can clearly hear him repeating the sound and cadence of the words so much so that it sounds like he’s fully saying the words. His older sister is overwhelmed with emotion and begins to cry while Mekeia seems to be so shocked that she begins to laugh while the person on the phone is just stunned into confusion.
People in the comments were eager to jump in with exclaiming the baby is a genius with one person writing, “he is a baby genius start showing him math problems.”
Another person jokes, “next thing he’s writing emails and making appointments.”
“Talking so clear would scare me sooo bad he’s so intelligent,” someone writes.
There’s actually a name for this
Others explain the phenomenon with a condition called echolalia.
“Echolalia is a normal part of child development. As children learn to talk and understand words, they imitate, copy or echo the sounds and words they hear. Over time, a child usually learns to talk by connecting new words together to make unique little phrases or sentences,” according to Speech and Language Advisor Claire Smith when interviewed by the BBC.
Sometimes this phenomenon rears its head extraordinarily early. Mekeia’s daughter was just three months old in the video above. Another popular video from a few years ago shows an 8-week-old infant from the UK very clearly saying the word “Hello” in response to his parents. A 7-week-old from Ireland was shown doing the same in 2015.
What’s really interesting is when kids start to actually understand and utilize language intentionally at an extremely early age. A boy named Michael Kevin Kearney was said to be talking by around 4-months-old, even asking his parents “What’s for dinner?” He went on to become a certified child prodigy, received a masters degree in biochemistry at just 14, and pursued a doctorate in chemistry at Middle Tennessee State University.
Most babies who repeat words shockingly early are not little geniuses in the making, just good mimics. Much of the time, they’re not able to consistently repeat the feat once the clip goes viral on social media.
But you can’t blame the parents, and social media users, for getting excited. It’s adorable and fascinating to watch in action!
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
When the holidays roll around, it’s time for families to decide where they will meet to celebrate. For the most part, parents with younger kids dread packing their bags and traveling to a family member’s house where things aren’t set up for young children. You fumble around setting up the pack ‘n plays, can’t find your bottle brush, and freak out because the electrical sockets aren’t child-proof.
However, many grandparents aren’t keen on enduring the mental and physical strain of traveling at an older age. So, who’s right? Grandma Jan, founder of Grandma Camp and a TikTok influencer who shares fun ideas for grandparents and grandkids, argued that parents should pack up their kids and visit Grandma.
“Okay, so, here’s the debate: families say, ‘Grandma, why don’t you come visit us?’ But let’s be honest, Grandma’s house is where the traditions are, the cookies are, and all of the toys are,” Grandma Jan begins. “But if grandma is driving, flying, hauling all the gifts, and packing up her car to come see you, maybe it’s time to flip the script. When did it become normal for Grandma to pack up all her stuff and come see you? Should the kids pile into the car, bring all their toys, and just go visit grandma? Bring all that love and chaos to her?”
So she asked her followers: “Should grandmas be the one on the road or should families pick everything up and drive to her?” Just about everyone in the comments said that grandparents should have to travel to see their grandchildren.
“Nope. I want Christmas morning in pajamas with my family. I want my traditions. My parents and in-laws (the grandparents) got all of this how they wanted. It’s my turn now,” Maggie wrote. “Gramma is retired and now has a shit ton of time. Kids and parents have a very finite amount of time off in the holidays that they do not want to spend on the road,” Mrs. Wright added.
Some grandparents also checked in to disagree with Grandma Jan. “Why would I put that on my kids and grandkids? It’s so hard traveling with kids, not to mention expensive to fly for more than one person,” Populustultus wrote. “What a weird way to think about that. Why wouldn’t you help your kids create magic in their home? Signed a grandma,” LifestylebyKat added.
The response inspired Grandma Jan to release a follow-up video clarifying her opinion. She admits she came up with the idea after seeing older people having a hard time getting through the airport. “[I saw] older grandparents struggling their way through airports carrying their own heavy bags while managing a walker or a plane or a wheelchair, struggling through all on their own with no one to assist,” Grandma Jan said. “And as an occupational therapist, that actually broke my heart. For younger, healthier grandparents, travel can be fun, but for the older generation, it can be quite a struggle.”
Ultimately, Grandma Jan didn’t intend to put anyone out; she just wanted to have a conversation about what’s best for families as a whole. “And Grandma Camp by Grandma Jan is about having those conversations, not making rules. And at the end of the day, it’s about connection, not distance,” she concluded her video.
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.
TikTok user alexxx1915 recently posted a short video with the caption: “I just learned the term ‘living room family’ and I never understood why my kids never played in their rooms when I always did as a kid.” She briefly shows her kids hanging out in the living room with their pet dog and some toys scattered around the floor, before panning to her own face and giving a sort of sentimental look. The simple, ten-second clip struck a huge nerve with parents, racking up over 25 million views and thousands of heartfelt comments.
What are ‘living room families’ and ‘bedroom families’?
This idea has been going around for a while on social media.
Simply put, a living room family is a family that congregates in the living room, or any common space in the household. Kids play in the same space where the adults relax and things are often messy, as a result. Everyone interacts with each other and spends lots of time together. Bedrooms are reserved mostly for sleeping and dressing.
A bedroom family, on the other hand, is where the kids spend more time in their rooms. They play there, watch TV, and maybe even eat meals. Typically, the main rooms of the house are kept neat and tidy. You won’t find a lot of toys scattered about, and family time spent together is more structured and planned ahead rather than casual.
A living room family is more communal
A family congregates in their living room. Canva Photos
In my household, we’re definitely a living room family. We’re around each other constantly, and the house is often a mess because of it. Learning about this term makes me feel a little better that my kids want to be around us and feel comfortable enough to get their ‘play mess’ all over the living room. The mess is a sign of the love and comfort we all share together.
There’s so much that’s great about having a family that lives out in the open, especially if you were raised feeling like you had to hide in your room.
“I thought my kids hated their rooms turns out they like me more” said another. “You broke a generational curse. Good job mama!” said yet another.
The implication of being a bedroom family, or having ‘room kids’, is that perhaps they don’t feel safe or comfortable or even allowed to take up room in the rest of the house, or to be around the adults. “I remember my brother coming round once and he just sat in silence while watching my kids play in the living room. After a while he looked at me and said ‘It’s so nice that your kids want to be around you’” one commenter said on alexxx1915’s video.
A bedroom family enjoys some alone time
A boy in his bedroom playing a guitar. Canva Photos
Being a bedroom family is by no means a bad thing. In fact, alone time is important for parents and kids alike, and everyone needs different amounts of it to thrive. Kids with certain special needs, like being on the autism spectrum, may be absolutely thrilled to spend lots of time in their rooms, for example.
But it really doesn’t have to be one or the other, and neither is necessarily better. Making your kids feel relegated to their room is, obviously, not great. It’s not a good thing if they feel like they’re not allowed to exist in and play in the rest of the house. But if they just like hanging out in their room? Nothing wrong with that at all. And same goes for parents.
In 2023, there was a similar debate on TikTok where parents sounded off on whether they were bedroom parents or living room parents. In this situation, the parents spent the majority of the time in their bedroom, while the kids were in the living room, or they spend time in the living room with their kids. According to Marissa Kile, the video’s creator, this made the parents’ bedroom feel like a “scared space” where the kids didn’t feel comfortable.
Of course, every household is different and the right answer is the one that works for them. And if you feel like living on the edge, you can always just be both.
This article originally appeared 2 years ago. It has been updated.
Even for the parents who prioritize showing up for their kids, missing a child’s event now and then might be unavoidable. But certain occasions are more painful than others when a parent can’t show up, and fatherless father-daughter dances undoubtedly fall into this category.
In June 2024, a work commitment kept Harper’s dad from attending her dance studio’s annual summer showcase, which meant the six-year-old was at risk of missing out on the father-daughter dance entirely.
An act of brotherly love
Thankfully, her brother Micah, who was 14 at the time, is the coolest brother in the world and stepped up to take her dad’s place so she wouldn’t miss out.
In a mega-viral video posted to Instagram by Harper and Micah’s mom, Patrice Thompson, we see the duo having a blast as they twirl in circles, fist bump, and end with an adorable lift for their “Barbie and Ken” themed routine.
“Core memory for the team today,” Thompson wrote in the caption. “I don’t know if he knows what an impact he’s making as her big brother, but she’ll never forget this.”
Micah didn’t just have an impact on Harper. So many people left comments sharing how impressed and moved they were by his kindness.
“In a world of boys he is a gentleman,” one person wrote, referencing a Taylor Swift lyric.
Another offered a touching truth, writing, “As a man whose dad walked away from me, this makes me so emotional. You are raising your son to be the cycle breaker. He won’t end up repeating cycles of toxic masculinity like so many of the men we see today. He will be a better man. And his little sister will grow up knowing what a real man should be like, because she has her big brother to show her.”
One comment commended Micah for stepping out of his comfort zone, saying, “Bless his sweet heart. I know how big that is for a 14 year old to put himself out there. Major props!”
“Watching him lift her up at the end got me i can’t lie i teared up ” another shared.
“As a girl who had my older brother participate in my “father-daughter” dances for drill team in high school, this made me soo emotional! this is a special moment they will remember forever,” reminisced another.
And perhaps the best (and truest) comment of them all, was this one: “Does your son know he’s a legend?”
Good Morning America sure does.
Mom is proud but not surprised
In an interview with Newsweek, Thompson shared that while she is “so proud” of her son, especially since most boys his age “would rather do anything else than perform a routine in front of their peers and during summer when he could be off with friends.” However, she is “not super surprised” by what he did. “That’s the young man he is!” she exclaimed, adding “he truly understands the meaning of being selfless.”
Here’s the family all together: Mom, Dad, Micah, Harper, and the newest addition born earlier this year, baby Christian. Hopefully the new baby boy knows he won the sibling lottery.
To all the brothers who would show up for their siblings in this way – thank you. Your generosity and compassion really do help make the world a better place, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
Even for those who enjoy the thrill of making vacation itineraries…it’s work. And obviously when the planning has to be done for an entire family, there’s even more effort needed to be put in. Imagine going through all the rigamarole of booking flights, hotels, rental cars, restaurant reservations, entertainment venues, last minute store runs for toiletries…without getting so much as a “thank you.”
Odds are you’d be a little miffed, even if planning is your thing. This was the scenario that a mom Alexis Scott found herself in after planning a summer vacation for her husband and two teen children. Thankfully, the now-viral TikTok post venting her frustrations inspired several folks to give her some much deserved support.
In the video, Scott began, “I’m on a family vacation right now with my two teenagers and my husband. We flew in late last night. We think we got in at like 12:15 a.m. and headed to get a rental car and then got to our Airbnb. And I am frustrated.”
Scott had tried and tried to get any input from her family about what they might want to do, and each time got the same reply: “‘Whatever you want, mom. I don’t care. Okay. I don’t care.’”
“Great. Glad I’m planning this vacation for everybody to not care,” Scott lamented.
Still, she did the planning because someone had to do it. But as soon as the vacation started, all her decisions were met with complaints. From being called “cheap” for getting too small of an SUV rental car to being told “Mom is never going to be in charge of booking the Airbnb again. She can’t even this, that and the other,’” after the family found out their AirBnb was three stories with quite a few stairs.
“Then this morning, we wake up and it’s an urban setting. We live in a very quiet suburban setting and my husband’s saying how he barely slept and this and that. And I’m just like, enough!” she said.
All of this happened within the first 24 hours of the trip. It’s easy to see why Scott needed to vent.
Her video concluded with:
I have been the only one to put in all the effort in planning this trip. And I know there’s videos on mental load, but this is prime time example of me. I’m shouldering the mental load for my entire family and everybody has something to say about it. So, yeah, I’m frustrated. Please pray for me that we can all turn our attitudes around and have a great day.”
A family enjoying a vacation together. Photo Credit: Canva
The internet had her back immediately
Down in the comments, viewers could totally empathize with Scott for feeling burnt out and disappointed.
“Oh gosh the mental load of planning every detail and then knowing if something goes wrong or isn’t perfect it’s all on you. Been there,” one person shared.
Another added, “I tell my husband that I haven’t been on vacation since I was a child and he’s alway confused bc to him, ‘we’ go on vacation every year. Only other moms would understand what I mean.”
Many suggested that she do something for herself instead.
“Just Irish goodbye one morning, go to brunch alone, hit the spa or a pool and come home after dinner,” one person wrote.
“Go and do whatever you want to do!! Spa day sounds perfect and take yourself out for fabulous meals!!” echoed another.
On a positive note: this story does have a happy ending. In a follow-up video, Scott shared how she showed her family the TikTok video she made, and it did turn things around.
“We have actually had a really, really great day today,” she said. “Everyone has had positive attitudes. I’ve heard a lot of thank you’s and my kids have been buying their little side purchases with their own money and not even asking me to pay for it… but they have been really self-sufficient in that space.”
All in all, Scott recognizes that her family is “human,” and a big part of being human is apologizing when a mistake is made and moving forward.
“We love each other. This was a learning experience.”
How to make family vacation planning actually work
The thing is, when families do the travel planning together, it often ends up being a more rewarding experience for everyone. There are lots of ways to go about it, like watching movies featuring the upcoming locale, having every family member choose one activity, selecting lodging as a group, voting from a handful of selected excursions, etc.
Of course, this requires willing participation for every family member, which is what Scott (like many other moms) certainly did not have. But hopefully other moms facing this same laissez-faireness can whip up this video to inspire some gumption into their vacation companions.
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
