A mom recently took to TikTok to share some humorous examples of toddler speak. The woman’s husband sent her several texts, hoping that she would be able to explain what their toddler was saying. “What’s nanna toe mean?” the dad asked in one text.
In another, he wrote, “What’s 1 2 3 4 when I ask him what he wants to watch?” While many moms found the texts funny and relatable, others were concerned that the dad didn’t seem to know much about his child. He asked his wife several questions about what the toddler was saying, and she knew the answers to all of them.
It seems pretty clear she knows their child better than he does.
To many people who watched the clip, which was shared by Amberlie Allen on TikTok, the difference between the mom and dad was obvious. While the dad seemed to have lots of questions about the toddler, the mom knew all the answers. The mom explained to her husband that “nanna toe” means “banana toast,” although it’s really just “Ritz crackers with peanut butter and banana slices on top.”
The mom also knew that when her toddler said “1 2 3 4,” he probably meant that he wanted to watch Toy Story, but wasn’t sure which one he wanted to watch. “Ask him if he wants to watch Toy Story,” the mom said in a text to her husband.
In another text, the dad said he thought the toddler was saying, “Where horn go?” but he didn’t know what that meant. “Are you watching monster trucks?” the mom wrote back, to which the dad replied, “Yes.” Right away, the mom knew what to do. “In our bedroom on my table is his monster trucks with the horns,” the mom advised.
Some people praised the mom for knowing her child so well.
One person loved how the mom knew “EVERYTHING.”
Another TikTok user said the mom’s understanding of toddler speak made it clear that she really loves her child. “To be loved is to be known,” the person wrote. “You know that baby!â¤ď¸”
Many parents of toddlers could also relate to the video, with one person writing, “I feel seen.”
But others found it embarrassing.
@amberlieh Texts I get from my husband. #toddlertranslator #toddlertalk #translate #mom #fyp #toddlermom ⏠original sound – Maggie Winters
While the mom demonstrated an amazing ability to decode and translate toddler speak, many TikTok users were not impressed by the dad. Based on the few conversations that the mom shared, they got the impression that the dad didn’t seem to know his toddler all that well.
“Does your husband spend any time with your child or??” one person questioned.
A second TikTok user thought the texts sounded like something a babysitter would send. The person commented: “from your HUSBAND?!? i thought it was a babysitterđ how embarrassing.”
In response to the negative comments about the dad, some people defended him, saying that people don’t know the full situation based on just a few text conversations.
“If dad works full time, or overtime, he doesnât get as much time home with baby,” one person commented, defending the dad’s texts. “These years go by quick, and as a mom who got to stay home with her baby, I am blessed that my fiancĂŠ worked so I could treasure those moments and it wasnât a stranger. At least heâs asking and not ignoring the baby!”
Another person wrote: “My husband spends the same amount of time with my daughter as I do and he still just canât understand her. I think this is a mom super talent.”
But people still thought there were unfair double standards at play.
One person pointed out that they know many moms who work outside of the home, and those moms still understand their toddlers. “Double standards are wild,” they commented. “All of my working mom friends understand their kids perfectly..I thought this was a grandparent. this is embarrassing.”
A dad jumped in to say that dads are not merely babysitters for their own children. “Iâm a dad and know my child as well as my wife,” the dad wrote. “I’m not a babysitter Iâm her father.”
In addition to sparking a debate, the video also prompted people to share funny examples of toddler speak.
Even though some people thought the conversations were “embarrassing,” others were simply reminded of the funny things toddlers say. After all, figuring out what exactly they’re talking about can take some time.
“I once nannied for a girl that wanted to watch ‘Bleh bleh bleh’..,” one TikTok user commented. “It was Hotel Transylvania.”
“The other day I had to decipher that ‘Judy and the cops’ meant zootopia,” a second person wrote.
A third person shared that “‘Dada dance’ means she wants to watch the video montage of her dads photos that my iPhone made on its own.”
When one toddler told their parents that they wanted to watch “dead daddy,” the parents were understandably confused. Turns out, the 3-year-old wanted to watch The Good Dinosaur. “[It] took us a while to work through that one,” one of the parents admitted.
