It must be said: at its worst, social media often feels like the last demon to fly out of Pandora’s Box.
Now that it’s out in the world, there’s no shoving it back in there, and we are helpless to watch as it wreaks havoc in the world. But that’s social media at its worst. It’s worth remembering that, at its best, social media creates community as nothing else in history could. It’s a way for anyone to put themselves out there, connect, and feel seen.
And every now and then social media gives us just what we need. Take, for instance, a viral video from TikTok user Mikayla (@mamamiik), who shared a heartwarming video to take as a sign that we are good parents.
The video, less than 30 seconds long, is a familiar scene: mom and kiddo sit at the table eating a simple dinner. She pans over the scene before turning the camera back on herself, where it remains.
“We’re having Pizza Hut” she says with a slice in her hand, then adds with a dash of self-deprecating cheekiness, “Because I’m a bad mom.”
Just as she takes a bite and chuckles, a tiny voice off-camera booms “No you’re not! You are a good mom!”
Mikayla looks back at the camera, at a loss for words as she chews her dinner. But her little one isn’t done with this sweet moment.
“Say it!”
Mikayla pauses while she finishes her bite of pizza, then nods solemnly to her child.
“I’m a good mom.”
“Yaaaaaaay!” the child cheers.
Oh, what? Me? No, no, I’m not crying. My eyes always do this. They’re extremely leaky.
OK. I’m crying, but judging from the commenters (and the more than 13.5 million likes as of press time) I’m not alone.
But that’s not all! Mikayla isn’t done with us yet. Along with the video she shared a poignant caption.
“Every day with my kids is a great day, some days are just more challenging than others. Yesterday was one of those days. One of those days where I had to say no too many times. One of those days where instead of raising my voice I should have shown more patience. Where it’s whatever for lunch and pizza for dinner. One of those days where you see moms on TikTok making everything for their kids from scratch and it just makes you feel so small. I felt like a bad mom. I felt like I could have done more, and I probably could have. But the whole day I was so self-critical, and it turns out my baby was just happy as could be. She thinks I’m a good mom. Your babies think you’re a good mom/dad too. You’re not alone. I see you.”
It’s such a simple but profoundly powerful message: too often we judge our parenting by an impossible standard that no one, really, lives up to. What we should be doing is trying to see ourselves through our children’s eyes.
