A dad recently discovered that acting more like Mister Rogers is a helpful parenting hack. On TikTok, the dad, whose username is @wholeparent, explained that he decided to speak like Mister Rogers and observe his kids' reactions.
“I recently came across this study about the effects of TV on kids, and specifically the effects of Mister Rogers on kids, and how kids who watched Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, for whatever reason, seemed to be more patient, more calm, just more, like, emotionally attuned,” he explained in the video.
The dad said that when he woke up with his kids one morning, he implemented the new approach, speaking to them slowly and calmly. The results were "like magic.”
His kids, who are "usually bouncing off the walls in the morning," instead spent the morning "sitting around in a circle attentively attuned to my every word."
The dad didn't even have to do much: “I was just like calm and slow and just asking questions," he explained.
Though changing the way he interacted with his kids was simple, it made a big difference.
"They’re usually tearing up the house, going crazy," he said. "They were just sitting with me calmly and patiently playing Lego.”
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Many TikTok users agreed with the dad's advice.
"The impact being calm and respectful toward tiny humans is amazing," one person commented. "They’re spongy mirrors. They absorb our energy and reflect it back at us."
Another agreed, commenting: "I worked with kindergarteners, and THIS IS IT."
One parent was a bit concerned though. "So you’re saying it’s ME not them????" the TikTok user wrote.
