Chelsea Lensing, an economics professor and mother of two, has recently gone viral for her unconventional parenting technique aimed at silencing the familiar backseat chorus of “Mom, I’m bored!” She calls her approach “crazy,” and it has inspired millions of parents on TikTok. Her video has gone viral on TikTok, receiving hundreds of thousands of views.
In Lensing’s unconventional approach, consequences are left to be the teachers. It little matters to her when her three-year-old says she’s hungry, that she field such obvious inquiries with answers including, “Oh, did you bring a snack? This approach is designed to promote accountability and independence with preschool-aged kids.
Here’s what Lensing told us through her lens on social media. She said, “This is my paltry attempt at making the next generation less spoiled rotten.” She answered the worried audiences with the authority of someone I swear to you that I’m not starving my children. She continued, “They are sated and super well-hydrated.” That this is only applied in very niche situations.
The general reception to Lensing’s approach has been controversial. Other parents have praised the method, claiming that it works wonders on children five years and up. But others have raised doubts about whether it really works for the youngest kids, especially those under age three. One critic remarked, “Seriously? The kids has their entire life to be folding laundry. Give them some toys, get down on the floor and play with them instead.”
In separate Facebook conversations, the ridiculously creative parenting influencer Deb Goddard told us about her very own hack for getting toddlers to help clean house. Goddard’s approach, which uses numbered flaps to teach her toddler how to fold clean laundry, Her Instagram post has gone viral, receiving over 1.5 million likes. She advises parents to include their kids when doing chores. She recommends, “Engage your little one to keep it enjoyable!”
Responses to both Lensing’s and Goddard’s practices show there’s a bigger discussion about parenting strategies with kids today that needs to happen. Many commenters applaud Lensing’s holistic approach to building independence. There’s an opposing side that says that it’s not appropriate for all ages. As one teacher in the chat pointed out, “As a teacher I appreciate it. I can point to ASAP and know, right then, when a kid has never been made responsible for one solitary thing in their entire existence.”
These alternative parenting approaches are trending online. They create a perfect storm of exciting buzz, debate, and conversation between well-meaning parents determined to find novel ways to foster responsibility and engagement in their kids.
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