Holiday time is officially upon us — you only need to step into Target to see holiday decor exploding from the shelves and rows upon rows of toys your kids are just waiting to beg for. Kristina Watts sure knows what that's like. The Washington state mom is used to her daughter Emerson begging for toys each year around holiday time. But recently, she took to Facebook to share a little "hack" she stumbled upon that works like a charm.
In her November 17 Facebook post, Watts shared an array of photos featuring her daughter Emerson, holding up some pretty choice gifts.
In each of them, the little girl sports a huge grin, as she holds up one coveted gift after the next.
"Once again my camera roll is FULL of pictures of Emerson with every single thing she wants for Christmas," Watts captioned the post.
In case you're scratching your head as to why, Watts goes on to explain that that's because it’s all part of "the most amazing parenting hack ever," which has has stopped "MANY meltdowns."
Skeptical? Just listen …
"Our trips to the store used to be a lot more painful this time of year," she wrote. "Toys are out in full force and of course my kids WANT. IT. ALL."
The mom admits she'd "love to have sweet, well mannered, non-greedy, chill kids, that don’t ask [for anything]."
But … um, yeah, that's not happening.
"Now, if you have kids like mine, that want the shiny amazing things that fill Target, the grocery store, Office Depot, the gas station, and pretty much everywhere you go this time of year, this is for you," she continued.
The next time you find yourself losing it in the middle a store, as your kid carries on about some toy they just HAVE to have, just breathe ...
And then, snap a photo. Yes, really.
"Pause for a second, comment on the thing they’re pointing out, and say, 'Let’s take a picture with it and send it to Santa so he knows you want it!'" Watts suggested in her post, before noting that "you can send it to Santa, grandma, TeeTee, or whoever it is you can pawn it off on. Totally up to you and can be different every time."
Turns out, acknowledging your kid's over-the-top excitement in the moment, instead of telling them NO, diffuses things quite a bit.
"Magically, Emmie smiles, says cheese, asks to see the picture, then PUTS THE TOY DOWN AND WALKS AWAY," wrote Watts. "It’s magical. No tears. No tantrums (by either of us). And she forgets about all of them within minutes."
Wow. Honestly, just wow.
Plenty of parents on Facebook were pretty stunned by the simple trick.
So much so that more than 27K people shared the post, and more than 5K left comments praising the mom or tagging their friends to share the great tip.
"Such a good idea!" wrote one person.
"So smart!" someone else added.
Another mom shared that she too discovered this trick years ago, and guess what? It TOTALLY works.
"I’ve taken photos of things for years!" the mom said. "Now she doesn’t even ask for the thing, she asks me to take a photo of the thing — that’s it!"
Genius.
And best of all, she's sharing the wealth RIGHT before prime begging season sets in. Honestly, the Internet owes a debt of gratitude to Kristina Watts this week.
