Mother imagines what toddlers are thinking when they have tantrums because of ‘big feelings’
‘We all need to remember this,’ one viewer writes
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Your support makes all the difference.A mother is sharing insight into the behaviours of young children by acting out the “big feelings” that can lead to tantrums.
The videos have been created by a parenting influencer who goes by the username @menzennial on TikTok, where she has imagined what a tantrum is like from a toddler’s perspective in a series of videos called the “Big Feelings Series”.
In the first clip in the series, posted in November, the TikToker puts herself in the shoes of a toddler who only wants to use their blue cup instead of a green cup, with @menzennial imagining the stresses of the child that contribute to their outburst.
“You woke me up early and put me in these jeans that I hate and the tag is itching my skin,” @menzennial began as she tearfully reenacted a toddler’s mindset, albeit with explicit language thrown in. “And your breath smells disgusting, every time you come near me, I smell coffee, and I hate it. My molars are coming in and it hurts. You bumped them when you were brushing my teeth against my will, that’s torture.
“Everything is so out of my control and I just wanted the blue cup.”
In the video, which has been viewed more than 2m times, the TikToker also acted out how the child feels whenever they have “big feelings” and their parent feels like it is not worth their time.
In another video in the series, @menzennial attempted to understand how children feel when they are being rushed to get ready, with the TikToker imagining a toddler asking why they are “always rushing around like idiots”.
“I don’t even know what time is. And I’m not good at getting ready to go places. And you’re apparently not very good at getting ready to go places either because we’re always struggling,” she said as she acted out a child’s frustration with their parent. “I know you’re frustrated, and I can sense it, and it’s making me frustrated.”
On TikTok, @menzennial, who has a toddler son, also shared videos imagining the “big feelings” that children experience when faced with situations such as being forced to clean their room, go to bed, or upon learning that they will have a new sibling.
In response to the videos, many viewers have praised @menzennial for the unique insight, with one person writing: “Wow. Honestly you just changed my whole perspective. Never thought of it this way. Thank you.”
Another person wrote: “This is amazing. Kids are experiencing everything for the first time, and that’s so hard.”
“Read once that little kids act like something is the worst thing they’ve ever experienced - because it often is! That changed my perspective a bit,” someone else added.
The Independent has contacted @menzennial for comment.
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