What to Know
As a millennial parent, I am all too aware of the chokehold that electronics have on my kids, on me, and honestly, on my household as a whole. It’s a work in progress, and we are getting there, OK? But when one dad in a Reddit post joked in a video about a trio of kids on their devices and asked where the parents are, he turned the critique back around, because the kids turned out to be his own.
If we can’t laugh at the rest of the parents laughing at us for our technology use and dependency, then what are we even doing? Obviously, the dad’s video speaks to a bigger message about spending time with your kids and not forgoing quality time so kids can doom scroll and you can do that at the same time. But the joke is just too relatable.
@marshle.b Where are the parents? #foryou #fyp #funny #christmas ♬ original sound – Marshle B
The dad found humor in letting kids be on their devices.
In the video, the dad speaks to the camera with his kids behind him in the top right-hand part of the screen. At first, it looks like his video is overlaid on top and he is commenting on the three kids, each on an electronic device. Then, one of the kids gets off the couch and walks up to him to ask him to hang out with him.
The dad responds, “Yeah. Remember, I told you guys, you gotta be quiet while I’m filming this, OK? I’ll be right there.”
That’s where the video ends, but the joke is obviously that kids and parents spend too much time on their electronic devices, and content creator parents are even worse about it. They might make videos as parents, showcasing their allegedly excellent and present parenting skills, only to be neglecting kids in a way that has technology at its core.
But I won’t lie. This guy had me at first. I was ready to feel sorry for the kids and wonder, too, where the heck their parents were. Then, he pulled the switcheroo and I could feel a little relief. Comments in the Reddit thread show how others users felt the same, because the dad’s video is that relatable for other parents.
“Plot twist: the kids actually have no interest in hanging out with dad,” one user joked in the comments.
Another added, “Would be [the] ultimate win if this was accidentally real.”
In that scenario, it would be like art imitating life imitating art at that point. Or, something like that, anyway. Another user shared more insight into the very real life of kids and their parents who have this issue, but don’t take any real action to remedy the bigger, less hilarious, issue.
“I feel this,” they wrote. “I have a nephew who just loves going on the phone and doing nothing but watching brainrot or Roblox. His father is always working and doing overtime, his mom works then comes home at three or four and doesn’t really try to spend time with him (play games, learn math, how to read, etc.). I can see the impact it’s having and I feel bad for him. I feel the only option is to put him in boxing or mixed martial arts to try to toughen him up, but he doesn’t like that either.”
As a mom of two who has a very busy household, I understand the allure of wanting to unwind with a bit of a doom scroll at the end of the day. Have I ever been the dad in that video, though? Luckily, no. A mix of some screen-free family games like hide and seek (yes, I swear, kids still love it) and board games tends to help me avoid having technology zombies for kids. At least, for now.
