A mommy influencer has revealed an ingenious parenting hack that helped her screaming toddler redirect their energy into a fun activity.
The hack, which has amassed nearly 1.5 million likes on Instagram, drew praise from commenters and child care professionals alike.
Michaela Harter, an influencer from Detroit who shares parenting content on Instagram under the username @modernmotherhoodnet, explained how to take everyday items and turn them into a fun activity for your rambunctious tots in a video this past March.
In this video, Harter explains: “My toddler is in a yelling phase. So, I found an activity where she is encouraged to yell.”
Harter’s toddler is seen in the video laughing and smiling while playing with pipe cleaners that have been formed into spirals and placed on top of a Saran-wrapped bowl.
The goal is for the kids to try to move the pipe cleaners with their voice.
Harter said in the caption of the video, “Redirection is my favorite way to combat unwanted behaviors.”
And Instagram users agreed with the mom’s methods.
One commenter wrote: “Hey, early childhood teacher here! Giving them an allowable outlet for problem behavior helps them understand what the behavior is instead of the outburst.”
“Obviously this parent is in tune with their needs and the yelling is quickly replaced by laughter. It’s a phenomenal activity!!! They can work on the outburst when the child is calm and can utilize new techniques!”
Another who identified as an occupational therapist commented, “I love this as a way to teach regulation regarding our volume. Some kids really struggle to understand that they’re yelling. What a great visual!”
BabyCenter, a pregnancy and parenting site, explained that toddler screaming is normal, and your kids may be doing it for several reasons, like to get your attention and to express strong emotions. They could also simply be screaming for fun.
Unlike Harter’s toddler, one Instagram user who tried out the hack for himself struggled to get the pipe cleaners to move just by screaming, so made his own version.
“We did put a speaker under the bowl and play different music..that was fun. Then we took them off and poured a bunch of salt and blasted music…that was really cool!” he said.
Others also had trouble getting the hack to work for them.
In response, Harter commented: “The troubleshooting is usually the tightness of the plastic wrap. I had to secure it with tape. You also have to be super duper close to the lip of the bowl for the sound vibrations to affect the top.”
