The top parenting moments of 2023
From a controversial hug to divisive parenting hacks, 2023 had no shortage of viral content that got people talking. Here are seven moments we can't stop thinking about.
1. Ms. Rachel admits she dresses her son for school the night before
Preschool teacher turned YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel was praised for her honesty after sharing a relatable morning shortcut.
“I dress my little boy for school at night. We put on a nice new shirt (and) sweatpants — super comfy, great for jammies. And then, when he wakes up, we throw on sneakers,” Ms. Rachel — real name Rachel Accurso — revealed on TikTok.
“Someday, I’ll teach him to wake up for school and get dressed,” the mom of two continued. “That will be a very good thing to teach. But I can’t do that right now. And that’s OK. I’m doing my best, and so are you. And I love you.”
It was a message that many parents needed to hear.
“This made me feel so much better because this is what I do!” one person wrote in the comments.
Added another, “Oh my gosh thank you for this! I get mom guilt a lot for doing the same thing. Thanks for normalizing it.”
2. A Dad went viral for his epic dances at school pickup
Jevin Smith, a father of four in Los Angeles, soared to internet stardom after sharing a TikTok compilation of himself busting a move outside the high school his daughter Jayna attends.
“In the beginning, when he first started doing it, I was like, this is unbearable. Imagine watching your father get of the car and start dancing,” Jayna told TODAY.com in September. “Now I think it’s hilarious. There’s never a time when I’m upset. He’s like a celebrity at school now. Everyone loves his TikTok.”
Not only does Smith do choreographed routines for his teenager, he also dresses the part. When dancing to MC Hammer’s “2 Legit 2 Quit,” he wore a pair of parachute pants and a gold embellished jacket. Too legit, indeed.
3. When a Mom was stumped by her first grader’s homework assignment, she turned to the internet for help
Here is the task one woman’s 6-year-old daughter was asked to complete: “Which word is the odd one out?” The choices were: friend, toothbrush, silver, desk and egg.
“At first I thought I was losing my mind. I was like, ‘What am I missing here?’” So I posted in a group with loads of moms hoping they would have the answer,” Laura Rathbone told TODAY.com in December.
The Facebook moms were just as puzzled.
“Everybody had different theories, and it was quite interesting!” Rathbone said.
Responses included:
“You can only eat an egg…”
“Toothbrush is the only word without an E.”
“Friend because it’s a person and not an object.”
““??!!????!????!?!???!!”
“Friend because it’s the only word that can not be phonetically sounded out. All others you can. Given its phonic homework that is what I would say it is checking.
“Silver. The others are nouns.”
“Just say the dog ate it.”
The next day, Rathbone reached out to her daughter’s teacher, who explained that the children had just started learning about nouns — and that the correct answer was … silver!
4. Dylan Dreyer shared her hack for handling rowdy kids
When Dylan Dreyer’s kids are being noisy, she just shakes it off.
“Dyl’s masterclass in how to silence your rowdy children has reached 1 million views. Your support has been overwhelming,” Dylan’s husband, Brian Fichera, captioned an Instagram post.
In the video, Dylan is vigorously agitating a cocktail shaker filled with ice, as her son Calvin stands in the kitchen screaming “MOM!” on repeat.
“I can’t hear you because I’m shaking my drink,” the smiling TODAY co-host sang back at Calvin.
In an email to TODAY.com, Dylan called her viral fame “crazy.”
“Here’s the thing: Some people might not love the idea of drinking around your kids and to those people I say ‘don’t judge!’” Dylan wrote. “I’ve got three boys who love being loud and love loud noises, so what better way to get the noise party started than with a cocktail shaker!
“It was just a funny joke of drowning out the sound,” she continued. “Seeing the number of views, clearly parents can relate!”
5. A Utah mom straddled her son after a school football game
Amber Wright found herself at the center of a debate in September after she posted a video of herself jumping into her 16-year-old son Brixton’s arms and wrapping her legs around him.
“I was so proud,” Wright told TODAY.com of the post-game embrace. “I was a proud mom hugging her kid.”
“I never expected it to turn into something where people are like, ‘You’re sexually abusing him! You’re grooming him! I’m calling child protective services,” she added.
“I wonder how many of his friends are allowed to stay over. My son wouldn’t be allowed for sleepovers at their house,” one person wrote in the comments.
Added another, “I don’t think anyone has an issue with your son picking you up, just the (fact) that it appears your straddling your son. You’re also dressed pretty sexy for a high school football game.”
Other responses included, “Ewww,” “What, I thought this was his girlfriend!!” and “THATS HIS MOTHERRRR?”
Wright told TODAY.com that the backlash was upsetting for both her and Brixton.
“I come from a very affectionate family. I hug my dad every time I see him,” Wright explained. “What you saw on the football field is just how we are. Brix will pick me up and squeeze me and then put me back down.”
6. A 70-year-old woman gave birth to twins in Uganda
Safina Namukwaya got pregnant with IVF and had a boy and girl via cesarean section on Nov. 29. The babies were born at 31 weeks gestation and each weighed more than 3 pounds, according to Namukwaya’s fertility specialist, Dr. Edward Tamale Sali.
Due to Namukwaya’s age, she used donor eggs and her partner’s sperm.
“I feel great,” Namukwaya told TODAY.com through an interpreter on a video call. “Some might argue that 70 years is old, but God decided that I get to have twins at 70. There is no one that can put a limit on God’s authority and power.”
In the U.S., the upper age limit for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other medically assisted reproduction is generally mid-50s.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) states that embryo transfer is “discouraged in women over age 55.”
Pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes, which are a “nuisance” for a 40-year-old, could be “catastrophic” for a 70-year-old, according to Dr. Brian Levine, a practice director at New York City’s fertility clinic CCRM.
But when Namukwaya, who also has a 3-year-old daughter, came to Sali earlier this year and explained that she wanted to grow her family, he didn’t hestitate to treat her.
“It’s her human right. It’s her body,” he said. “She’s physically fit.”
7. A dad proudly proclaimed that he doesn’t help his wife with kids or chores — for a good reason
“I don’t help my wife cook. I don’t help her clean, do laundry, take care of the kids — none of that,” J.R. Minton, a UPS driver in Texas, began a now-viral TikTok video in October.
Why, you might ask?
“Because I do what I’m supposed to do as a father and a husband,” Minton explained. “I cook, I clean, I do the laundry. I take care of the kids. I can’t ‘help’ my wife do those things, because they are my job, too.”
It should come as no surprise that Minton’s rant was met with thunderous applause from moms.
Minton hopes more men will stumble upon his TikTok video, which has been seen more than 7.5 million times.
“We are not helping our wives, we are not babysitting our kids. That way of thinking needs to change,” nMinton told TODAY.com. “It’s time to grow up.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
