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To the parents we need in this world.
Whenever parents go viral online, it feels like a much bigger feat to me 🙃 — but maybe that's just 'cause I'm old. Here are 13 times parents completely blew us away with their applaudable actions:
1. Mom Chloe Sexton who shared how her husband gets "daddy privilege" for doing the exact same tasks she does.
@chloebluffcakes It’s the daddy hero treatment for me 🙃
♬ original sound - Chloe
"I'm strapped up with a baby or seven months pregnant, hauling 100-pound bags at a time of flour in the back of my Subaru. Meanwhile, I'm getting a whole lotta...NOTHING TO SEE HERE. Just a woman doing woman things, busting her ass. But my husband, my husband wears the baby and he goes to Restaurant Depot for mommy's business and it's, 'Oh my god, look at you! Oh my god, you work so hard.' He [my husband] said, 'Honestly, it was a little bit embarrassing.' Somebody walked past him and said, 'Oh my god, that's a whole-ass baby!' Yeah, it's his... He's literally not a hero. He's just a father, just a parent, doing the same sh*t I do every week," she shared in her viral TikTok.
2. Back in 2015, an Ohio dad got a standing ovation from parents around the world after he wrote a check to his son's school using Common Core math because he was so frustrated with it.
3. And, also back in 2015, mom Jennifer Smith took a stand against a sixth-grade pool party after her son brought home a permission slip that required all girls to cover their swimsuits with a non-white T-shirt:
Jennifer Smith
Jennifer returned the unsigned permission slip to the school with the message, "I will not let my child participate in any activity that promotes girls body shaming or tells girls they are to police their sexuality," then posted a picture of it on the Facebook groupFeminism on Facebookwhere it quickly went viral.
4. When dad J.R. Minton shocked the world by saying he doesn't help his wife cook, clean, do the laundry, or care for their kids...because if he helped, they would be her responsibility and not his. Instead, he simply does them.
In his viral video, he says, "I don't help my wife cook, I don't help my wife take care of the kids, clean, laundry — none of that. Because I do what I am supposed to do as a father and a husband. 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. Change the way you speak, change the way you think, and grow the f*ck up and be a man."
5. The time mom Maria was open and honest about sharing her postpartum body.
Maria first went viral in 2018 for her incredible week-by-week pregnancy progression with triplets. Later that same year, she opened up about the difficulties with her postpartum body. Above, she is pictured one month after giving birth.
6. And when mom Allison Kimmey shared her before-and-after body photos, telling the world that happiness isn't a number on a scale.
In 2017, Allison made an Instagram that featured photos filled with pictures of her at her happiest, instead of at her thinnest. Kimmey created a place online where women can share and heal their body image wounds.
7. When mom Nicole Hennessy went viral for being supportive of her teenage daughter's pregnancy by explaining all three options to her and letting her make an informed decision.
@nicolehennessy2 / tiktok.com
BuzzFeed spoke to Nicole, who is referring to her 17-year-old daughter, Angelina, in her video. "The moment I saw the pregnancy test wrapper, I knew it was my daughter's. My immediate reaction was, 'Angelina needs me, so don’t react!' I said, 'Do you need a hug?' And I hugged her tight and told her I would help her figure this out," explained Nicole.
8. The time mom Payal Desai made a TikTok series sharing the things she's teaching her sons so their future partners won't have to, like how to navigate the grocery store.
@payalforstyle / tiktok.com
Payal told BuzzFeed that she noticed a difference in how people raise young boys vs. young girls in her upbringing, her secondary education career, and as a parent. "After becoming a mom of sons, I wanted to ensure they grew up with respect and empathy for themselves and girls. I also knew I wanted them to emulate what they see at home between my husband and I — an equitable partnership built on communication and collaboration."
9. And dad Eric Taylor who went viral for teaching his daughters to avoid mediocre men through his own good example — and to never accept the bare minimum from them.
@dopedad_e / instagram.com
When BuzzFeed reached out to Eric to learn more about parenting his 4- and 6-year-old girls, he said, "I want them to know how to respect and know that they deserve respect. I want them to understand love so it doesn't get confused with anything else this world tries to fake it with. I want them to know they are powerful and brave so they can make their own way in the world."
10. Dad Michael spoke out about the over-sexualization of young girls to spread awareness after witnessing it firsthand with his daughter.
@world.shaker / tiktok.com
"It’s important to Kelly (my wife) and me that our daughter be raised free from as much toxic influence as possible, and that influence started before she was even born," he said. "I don't think it should be this difficult to find what I'd call platonic clothing for children. Not to speak in absolutes, but the clothes we buy our daughter that were intended for boys consistently fit comfortably, are more durable, and aren’t see-through. The clothes we’ve found that were intended for girls are usually snug to the point of being form-fitting (even in the same size), cover less, and feel pretty flimsy in terms of quality. There’s no reason for it," he told BuzzFeed.
11. Jessica McCabe is a Gen X mom who was praised for being real about her frustrations when it comes to how she raised her kids, thinking it would set them up for success — but society has made it nearly impossible.
@that1crazy72 / tiktok.com
As an example, she said, "I told my son, all you have to do is work hard, go to college or join the military like I did. He went to college, got his degree, got a full-time job. He moved back in with me right when he graduated from college because he said, 'Hey mom, as soon as I get a job (which was within two weeks of him getting out of college), it'll maybe take me two months, and I'll save up enough money for me to move out. Okay, cool. It's been 10 months. He has saved almost every dime and still can't afford to live. Why are one-bedroom studio apartments almost $2,000 a month. Why?"
12. Mom Emily Haswell who shared important things she never thought about before having a baby (like you are having a baby with a dude, you will have to hear your mom call him "daddy" lol.)
@myemtv/video / tiktok.com
She included more examples in her viral TikTok: "You still take care of your baby even when you're on your period. The government doesn't send anybody to help or anything. Boomers really don't care about visiting a 32-year-old woman that's gonna yell about police brutality every time they visit, but they are very interested in visiting a little cute baby that can't talk. So just know that your family is going to be around a lot more."
13. And, just for fun, because I know you probably forgot about this: When mom Candace Payne couldn't stop laughing after trying on a Chewbacca mask. ICONIC!
In 2016, over 100 million people watched her Facebook Live video where she laughs hysterically while wearing a Chewbacca mask.
