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Woman shares 'weird' things her family did growing up. Now everyone wants her parents.

As one commenter wrote, "I thought parents never knew what they were doing but yours DID."

Courtesy of @michel.c.janse/TikTok

Michel Janse had some intentional, fun-loving parents.

There are lots of ways to be a good parent and lots of ways to be a crappy parent, and once you become a parent, you realize that the difference between the two isn't always clear. You might think you're doing something great for your kids, only to have it backfire and realize it was a mistake. Or you might think you're really screwing up the whole thing, but eventually see that you've given your kids exactly what they needed.

Once in a while, though, you see a parenting example that makes you go, "Whoa, now that's how it's done." That's exactly what people are saying about Michel Janse's video, which describes the "weird" things her family did while she was growing up (which she realized halfway through were probably just stellar parenting hacks).

@michel.c.janse

weird things (maybe?) my family did growing up. But now I’m realizing most of these were just parenting hacks

"We had even and odd days for healthy and unhealthy breakfasts," Janse shares. "What does that mean? It means we would get cereal on like the first, third, fifth, seventh, and we'd have to have like eggs and fruit on the second, fourth, sixth…it was my mom's way of being like, 'These are the rules, you can't have sugary cereal every day. You have to have protein today, sorry."

Janse says her parents bought poker chips that they used for screen time currency. Each poker chip represented 10 minutes of screen time (which included computer time or TV time during her childhood), and they received three chips a day. If they wanted to watch a 2-hour movie, they'd have to save their chips up for four days.

chips, parenting hacks, parenting, screen time, gif, clever Card Game Poker GIF Giphy

"We got $12 a week allowance if we did above and beyond chores," she said. "We had mandatory chores, but then there was like weed the whole garden, clean the baseboards, and whatever if we wanted to get our $12." Then they were given three piggy banks, one for giving/generosity, one for savings, and one for play. "As a kid, we got it into our mind that 50% of this we get now, and 40% goes into savings and 10% goes into generosity, whether that's tithing or whatever."

She explained how her parents "gamified" dinner by creating teams (usually her and her mom versus her sister and her dad) and competing to see who could out-theme the other. They would plan out the meal, including going to the store to get the necessary ingredients, and they'd decorate the table according to the theme they had come up with. "It was SO fun," Janse said.

Then she shared how she and her sister had to "recycle" all of their Ziploc bags, bringing them home from their school lunches, washing them out, and reusing them. She said she was embarrassed rinsing out her baggy at school, but now she sees her family as "sustainable kings and queens."

family, parenting, kids, playing games, card games Family playing cardsPhoto credit: Canva

From switching off who got to sit in the front seat by using odd and even days to bringing cards everywhere they go so they can break out a game of Spades at any time, Janse's parents seemed to have a knack for making parenting both fun and effective, which is really the ultimate goal, isn't it?

People in the comments were impressed, especially those who may not have had the most wholesome or healthy upbringing:

"'Weird things that my family does' and it’s the best parenting I’ve ever heard."

"I love whatever is wrong with your parents 😂"

"Ah, so you were RAISED raised."

"Please don’t delete this until i have kids."

"Sorry, but your parents are brilliant. They created healthy boundaries and responsibility."

"Some of y'all fr don't got trauma? I didn't even know that was an option."

"Get your mom a mic and put her on camera, NEOW!"

"I thought parents never knew what they were doing but yours DID."

"This is a very balanced and healthy way to raise kids. Taught y'all responsibility, health competition, financial literacy, empathy, creativity, sustainability, sharing, hard work and reward. They did a great job."

So many people said they were taking notes and asking for more, so Janse did a series of follow-up videos with more memories of how her parents parented and answered people's questions:


@michel.c.janse

Replying to @Caisee here’s some fun cute things they did that shaped me 🥹🥰

It truly is wonderful to see so many practical examples of stellar parenting and how those choices still impact someone as an adult. You can watch more of Janse's follow-up videos about her parents' intentional approach to parenting on her TikTok channel.


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21 anonymous parents confess how they're battling burnout by any means possible

"I throw out my kids' crafts and I don't feel bad about it."

Canva Photos & Skylight

Parents are really struggling, and they're confessing the little ways they get by under all the pressure.

I was trying to make a dentist appointment for my two kids last week. Or, rather, I was trying to reschedule a dentist appointment. I'd made one six months ago at their last visit for a day and time that seemed to make sense, but that was basically an educated guess at best. Six months might as well be six years ago! I had no idea what our schedule would be so far in the future, so I did my best. But now it was time to move it, of course, because I had been completely wrong.

I called the office, but no answer. Called again, no answer. Left a message, no call back. Finally, I was able to get a hold of someone through the office's text line. They offered up some new dates and times, which was great. So, I went to check our calendar.

Day 1 didn't work because of back to school "sneak previews." The timing on Day 2 didn't work because my youngest isn't allowed to show up to daycare summer camp past 11 (don't even get me started). Day 3 didn't work because the plumber was scheduled to come that morning. Day 4 didn't work because I had a dentist appointment of my own! I thought day 5 might be a winner, but then my wife reminded me that it was the second day of school—and we couldn't take our kids out of school on their second day of both starting new schools!

In the end, honestly, I just gave up. I needed a break. I had other things to do and my brain was starting to hurt. Plus, I'd already spent what felt like hours on this allegedly simple task.

So, my confession as a dad is that my kids are currently overdue for the dentist, and making them a new appointment is still pending on my To-Do list, because I literally just can't right now. Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels that way.

The folks at Skylight have been collecting confessions from anonymous parents, who share how they're surviving the chaos: Whether it's taking shortcuts, telling little white lies, or just feeling guilty for always falling short. Whatever it is, these parents are doing their best and still struggling.

But that doesn't mean that some of the confessions aren't hilarious. Others are incredibly moving. Overall, it's the perfect picture of the joy, the love, and the anxious guilt that all come together to make up modern parenting.

Yes, people knowingly sign up for this when they have kids, but it's impossible to know just how difficult and frustrating it can be before you're in the thick of it every day. It's also awesome and so fun and joyful! That's the beauty of it all.

Here are some of the best responses from Skylight's anonymous confessions.

parenting, parents, kids, family, stress, anxiety, parenting stress, millennial parents, modern families, culture, society "Sometimes I book a babysitter just so I can drive around in my car alone."Skylight

"I skip pages at bedtime stories." —Dad, 33

"There's a 50/50 shot I forget it's early dismissal. " —Dad, 48

"Still haven't unpacked their backpacks from June. Should be fun." —Dad, 41

"Whenever I want time alone I tell the kids I'm planning Christmas. Even if its March. " —Mom, 45

"I never filled out my kid's baby books. " —Mom, 29

"I throw out my kid's crafts and I don’t feel bad about it. " —Mom, 44

I relate to so many of these, so much so that it hurts. As I'm writing this, there is a cardboard box in my garage filled with just a year's worth of my kids artwork, school papers, and crafts. The box is overflowing and I keep having ideas of sorting through it so I can save the really good stuff, but I just can't get around to it. Literally, I can barely get to the box because it's buried under a ton of other junk I have to sort through!

In my house, we've all but given up saving new artwork unless it's really special, and most of what's in the box will probably be thrown away. I feel guilty as hell about it but I just can't create more hours in the day to deal with it.

parenting, parents, kids, family, stress, anxiety, parenting stress, millennial parents, modern families, culture, society "I secretly prayed my kid's Little League team would lose."Skylight

Here are some more good ones:

"Sometimes when my children are fighting I just let them have it out and continue to read my books." —Mom, 37

"I tell my kids I'm going in my room to work, and not to interrupt. When in fact I am eating ice cream and watching my show." —Mom, 36

"If we don’t have cash in the house for the tooth fairy, we use money from their piggy bank." —Dad, 35

"I tell my kids I’m studying, but really I’m reading my spicy book. " —Mom, 42

"That cute, smiling picture I posted on IG? My toddler was having a full blown meltdown and the only reason she smiled was because I sang Baby Shark." —Mom, 33

"I’m never sad when a practice or game canceled for rain or heat!" —Mom, 39

As a travel soccer family, I can definitely relate to the sweet relief of a cancelled practice. Our daughter goes about three times per week year round, which is an enormous time commitment. The practices are usually in the evenings around dinner time, and we have a younger kid that needs to keep a normal schedule, so practice evenings are usually pretty chaotic and often end with one or many of us eating junk from McDonald's. Worse, I feel a lot of guilt that I stay in the car or at a nearby coffee shop working on my laptop while other parents are out in lawn chairs watching practice. What am I doing wrong? I wonder constantly.

parenting, parents, kids, family, stress, anxiety, parenting stress, millennial parents, modern families, culture, society "I told my kid our town doesn't have a hockey team, because lord knows I'm not waking up ... to take him to practice."Skylight

OK, here are just a few more:

"All I want is time with my kids and time without my kids." —Mom, 33

"Yes, I threw out your Halloween candy." —Dad, 52

"I’ve forgotten my son at early pick up before." —Mom, 37

"Some days, I feel like I’m not giving enough to either side of my life." —Mom, 32

"I’m constantly feeling guilty when I’m not with my kids but feel overwhelmed when I’m with them. " —Mom, 44

Ah, yes, the true brilliance of being a parent is that you get to feel like you're failing in every aspect of your life simultaneously. Parenting takes time and energy away from advancing in your career, but don't worry, your career also takes time and energy away from being a great parent. It's so awesome!

You can see all the confessions as they roll in right here.

parenting, parents, kids, family, stress, anxiety, parenting stress, millennial parents, modern families, culture, society "i told them I had to work late, but I just drove around crying until I felt better."Skylight

In 2024, Skylight teamed up with The Harris Poll to create something called the Mental Load Report. The findings were fascinating and illuminating.

The survey results showed that parents spent an average of 30.4 hours per week on "planning and coordinating family schedules and household tasks," or the equivalent of a near-full-time job.

Parents were found to receive an average of 17.5 communications (emails, texts, phone calls) about their kids' activities every week. It's a stark difference from when we were kids and our parents never heard anything until it was Report Card time.

Planning for "time off"—securing childcare, summer breaks, activities, etc.—took over 100 hours per year. Summer vacation? Yeah, right.

Moms, unsurprisingly, are carrying more of the mental load. But 60% of all parents felt taken for granted or under-appreciated in their household for all the care and planning that they do.

Add it all up and it's no wonder the US Surgeon General put out an advisory warning recently about the poor mental health of parents. An advisory is a "public statement that calls the American people's attention to an urgent public health issue and provides recommendations for how it should be addressed." The report lobbied for expanded paid family leave, expanding public and private insurance coverage of mental health care like therapy, and creating more family-friendly and free community spaces like parks.

Those measures would go a long way, but in the meantime, parents are just trying to cope any way that they can. Whether that's stealing some of your kid's Halloween candy for a little pick me up, or telling them you have an appointment just so you can go somewhere quiet and scream in your car. We're getting by, however we can.

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Pediatric physical therapist shares truth behind 'lime method' of teaching babies to walk

Here's why it actually works.

Photo credit: Canva

Pediatrician Olivia Reyes explains why using limes can help babies learn to walk.

If you’re a parent looking for hacks to help your toddler learn to walk, you've likely come across the advice to give them a couple of limes. Other moms and dads seem to swear by this viral trend, especially as an alternative to any fancy, expensive gadgets.

But how exactly does this trick work? In a now-viral video, developmental physical therapist Olivia Reyes, aka “The baby PT” on TikTok, explains.

Stitched to a video of a baby boy holding two of the aforementioned fruits while effortlessly striding across the room, Reyes says, “This lime trick works and has really nothing to do with the limes and more so, everything to do with his ability to stand.”

“In order to walk, we have to be able to stand by ourselves, independently like he is doing here, for at least 10 seconds,” she continued. And in this instance, the lime not only offers just enough "counterbalance" to help make that happen, they also give little ones something easy to focus on. It also helps that mom is nearby to help boost confidence.

The adage of “you’ve gotta crawl before you walk” should really be “you’ve gotta stand before you walk,” it seems, which is why in an interview with TODAY, Reyes also touted the benefit of doing standing exercises.


@thebabypt

#duet with @wendysanchoa #lemonmyth The lime myth makes a lot of sense when your baby can stand already! Love to see it! #MomsofTikTok


“Because standing is the first time babies balance their entire body weight in a vertical position — before then, they crawl and roll ... horizontally, which distributes their weight over the body.”

That said, Ryese encourages parents not to panic if the baby only gets a few steps in before reverting back to crawling. “That’s a developmentally appropriate stage,” she told TODAY.

All in all, limes just happen to be the perfect size for baby hands to grab hold of and keep their hands busy, and have an eye-catching color, but certainly other items could do the trick. Case and point below:

And this brings up another good point. While learning to walk-independently, babies will be tempted to reach out to their parents for support. And in turn, parents will want to help their little one along. This can be very enjoyable, but according to some pediatricians, not the best way to actually teach walking.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

As for standing exercises, Reyes has some very simple examples in this video, involving furniture and toys.


@thebabypt

How to help your baby walk? Make sure they can stand for at least 10 seconds! Heres some standing tips to get your baby confident with standing and walking! #momsoftiktok #firsttimemom #newmomsoftiktok

No matter what strategy you go with, teaching a baby to walk requires creating a safe environment, providing just the right amount of support, and encouraging exploration. This way babies can gain more confidence—arguably an ingredient far more important to their development than lemons.

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Mom's clever 'take-out' trick is the ultimate hack to get kids to eat homemade food

Diabolical? Yes. Genius? Also yes.

Photo credit: Canva

This hack would work on adults as well.

Honestly, what parent hasn’t told a little white lie to their kids here and there to make life easier? Especially when it comes to food-related things, whether that be sneaking in a veggie or two into “safe” meals, making healthy snacks seem a little more fun and novel by mimicking charcuterie boards, or in one mom’s case, concocting an elaborate ruse to make homemade food look like takeout.

Mom Alex MacLaren is clearly a good cook, making anything from chicken cacciatore to blueberry banana loaf to fancy Greek salad. And yet, even she has a hard time getting her kids to eat her restaurant-worthy meals. That is, until she started telling them it was from a restaurant.

In the video below, we see MacLaren’s ploy in action. “We ordered in food, this is an Italian place. They sent us a lot of food, you guys!” she announces while unpacking a brown paper bag.

@mac.larena

🚨 NEW SERIES 🚨 Takeout but made at home 🤭 #easyweeknightmeals #momlife Make plates with me, dishing up dinner ideas, cheap meals on a budget


MacLaren goes full method on this, having the beans, tortellini minestrone soup and chicken dish with rice in their own legit to-go trays. And the kids, well, they eat it up. Literally.

“Who wants soup and who wants chicken?” we hear MacLaren ask, to which the children cheer “Me,” “Chicken!” and “I want the big one!”

In an interview with Today, MacLaren shared that she first got the idea a few months prior, after ordering takeout containers from Amazon to pack her daughter’s lunches. It worked so well for lunch, she figured it had to be a nifty dinner hack as well. And she was correct. MacLaren has only played this trick a small handful of times so far, but it’s worked every time.

Like below, where she convinces the kiddos that they are eating from a Greek restaurant, compatible with garlic pita bread. For a second there’s a close call when one of McLaren's kids says “Wait, that’s the same container ...” but she quickly evades, replying, “All the restaurants use the same containers.”

@mac.larena

Replying to @Shira the plot thickens 😅 #easyweeknightmeals #momlife cheap dinners in a budget, takeout recipes


Needless to say, many, many fellow parents are pretty amazed by this scheme.

“Mommy marketing wins again,” one viewer quipped, while another said, "It’s all about the rebrand.”

Another even joked, “Those kids are masters at being gaslit. As a human, be ashamed. As a mom, you’re my hero!!!!”

Apparently, MacLaren isn’t the only mom to have this rebrand idea. One person shared, “I do this! My son loves Chinese but not when I make it. Little does he know, I have been making it and just putting it in takeout containers. He eats it the same as when we order in.”

One viewer asked the question sure to be on many of our minds: “how do the kids not see MacLaren cooking up this “fake out take-out”? In a follow-up video, MacLaren quells our curiosity by revealing the basement she secretly plugs her crock pot in. Now that’s commitment.

@mac.larena

Replying to @Jess nothing to see here 😉 #takeoutathome #momlife #easyweeknightmeals


Yet another even admitted, “I fear this would work on me as an adult.” which is so true. There’s something about food “magically" landing on your doorstop, practically gift-wrapped, that makes it feel much more special than having to slave over a hot stove. Of course, the oils and flavor enhancers don’t hurt, either.

As far as her feelings about lying to her kids are concerned, MacLaren admitted to Today that “gaslighting is a pretty big part of my parenting strategy,” adding, “Why are we overthinking everything?” And perhaps she has a point. Sometimes the ends really do justify the means. Especially when it comes to getting kids to eat their dang food.

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