A mother of three has gone viral after sharing her “genius” parenting trick that involves turning on YouTube to entertain her children while physically tiring them out.
Aviva, also known as @avivaspeaks on TikTok, has more than 40,000 followers on the app where she shares content about mental health awareness and living with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Last month, she took to TikTok to share her “favourite” parenting hack that’s since been viewed more than three million times on the social media platform.
“My favourite parenting hack rn is free ‘jump challenges’ on YouTube,” she wrote over the clip, which showed her three kids jumping up and down while trying to win the game on the TV screen.
However, the television was actually showing a YouTube video of a previously recorded game. “They think they’re playing (and winning) games while using all their endless energy sources. Who is going to tell them? Not I.”
She captioned the TikTok: “As a mother of Neurodivergent children, this hack has to be my favourite.”
In the comments, Aviva was instantly praised by fellow parents for the secret trick to physically tire out their children.
“This is genius,” said one TikTok user, while another commented: “Absolutely genius omg”
A third person said: “You literally just saved my stay at home mom life.”
Some people also shared other parenting hacks they’ve used – or that were used on them – to deplete their child’s endless energy at the end of the day.
“Can confirm I have played Mario Kart with my nephew while he was holding a controller with no batteries,” one TikToker admitted.
“I do this with my kids but I put on Just Dance. At the end it says their score and they clap and cheer like they actually won,” another person shared.
“My dad used to tell me and my brother to run around and we would get paid for each round, but it was like one cent each time,” said someone else. “And run we did.”
In a separate video, Aviva revealed that the go-to video she searches for “jump challenges” on YouTube is Coach Corey Martin, who posts “fun and engaging brain break activities for kids” on the website.
While many children can struggle with paying attention, sitting still, or following directions, these day-to-day tasks may be more difficult for kids with ADHD. Inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness are just some of the signs of ADHD. In the United States, an estimated six million children between the ages of three and 17 were diagnosed with ADHD from 2016 to 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.
The Independent has contacted Aviva for comment.