A mom’s clever trick for keeping kids’ Christmas tantrums at bay has been praised by parents all over the internet.
Washington-based Kristina Watts, 35, shared her novel approach on Facebook: When her daughter Emerson, three, starts demanding toys, instead of saying ‘no’ or giving in – she just asks her to pose for a photo that will be sent to Santa.
Particularly in the lead up to Christmas, her idea seemed to go down a treat. So far, over 53,000 people have shared the post and many are chiming in with pictures taken after they applied the same method in the toy store.
Mom hack: Kristina Watts’ smart shopping hack to keep in mind when taking your kids to the toy store went viral when she shared it to Facebook
Solution: Kristin asks her daughter Emerson, pictured left and right, to pose with things she wants, telling her they will send the pictures to Santa
Shopping: The mom-of-three said this solution allows Emerson to feel like her request is being acknowledged, but then she puts the toy back and move on
Mom-of-three Kristina wrote: ‘Once again my camera roll is full of pictures of [her daughter] Emerson with every single thing she wants for Christmas. Why…because it’s the most amazing parenting hack ever and has stopped many meltdowns! If you aren’t using this hack…listen up friends.’
She continues: ‘Our trips to the store used to be a lot more painful this time of year. Toys are out in full force…and of course my kids [want it all].
‘Obviously I would love to have sweet, well mannered, non-greedy, chill kids, that don’t ask for all the things…but I don’t.
‘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. Take a picture. It’s that simple.’
Simple: The Washington-based mom said her hack is ‘simple’ and keeps everyone happy while in the store
Frozen: The cute kid poses with Frozen toys for her mom, but very soon she will move on and forget about them
Kristina added: ‘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!” Note: you can send it to Santa, grandma, TeeTee Stephanie or whoever it is you can pawn it off on. Totally up to you and can be different every time.’
The patient mom revealed that her daughter then smiles, says cheese, asks to see the picture and then puts the toy down and moves away.
‘It’s magical. No tears. No tantrums (by either of us). And she forgets about all of them within minutes.’
Kristina told BoredPanda.com that she came up with this approach last year.
She explained: ‘Our town was hit by Hurricane Michael, a Cat 5 hurricane, and it was devastating. I was approached to help find a way to provide Christmas toys for a local Title 1 Elementary school.
‘The church that usually supplies Christmas gifts to Lucille Moore Elementary couldn’t do it last year because everyone was struggling so much.’
Presents: Kristina, pictured, said she came up with the idea for the photo hack when she was holding hundreds of toys at her home for donation
Kristina made an Amazon Wishlist for all 500 kids at the school and went LIVE on Facebook telling everyone what was happening.
Soon enough, the Watts home was filled with toys from people all over the country. Word spread further and they decided they would also distribute toys to another school with students in need.
Mom life: Emmie, pictured with her mom, wanted to open all of the gifts that her parents had collected for the toy drive
‘Before we knew it, we had our own USPS truck delivering toys for a week. We had about $45,000 worth of toys and Razor scooters in our garage and bedroom.’
As Kristin and her husband Andrew enlisted their kids to help them unbox and organize everything, the tantrums began.
‘Of course, as a two-year-old, [Emerson] wanted all the toys in [her] own house. Dolls, arts and crafts, everything you can imagine. It was like having our own toy store.
‘[Emerson] wanted to open and play with everything and did not understand that they weren’t for her. I mean she was two-years-old!’
To keep her calm, Kristina instead asked her to take pictures with the ones she liked and told her she could eventually get one too.
Voila!
‘It worked,’ Kristin said. ‘She stopped trying to get everything out of its package. She’d carry it around, take a picture, and put it back.’
‘We ended up distributing a toy and Razor scooter to every child at Lucille Moore Elementary, and a toy to each child at Cedar Grove Elementary. Around 1100 kids. It was crazy, but that’s how we started doing it,’ she said.
Family: Mom Kristin pictured with husband Andrew and their kids
The mom said that she believes the approach works so well because Emerson feels heard.
‘Like you’re listening to them and getting excited with them. I’m not promising Emmie all of these toys, nor does she get them all. It’s just hope and joy.
‘It’s the modern-day version of circling all the toys in the JC Penney catalog. We never thought we’d get it all, but it’s fun to dream and feel like your parents are looking.’
Kristina said that among the praise, some parents have criticized her Facebook post and told her she should just say no – although she hasn’t taken the trolls’ words to heart.
‘A lot of people have been criticizing me for not just “saying no.” Believe me, my children hear “no” a lot. This post was just something fun and quick I threw up on Facebook one night.
‘I’m not trying to be a parenting guru, I’m by no means the perfect parent. I’m just another mom, running all the Christmas errands, trying to make shopping a little easier and a little more fun.
Praise: Parents everywhere weighed in to commend Kristin’s idea
‘I’m just trying to do my best and raise decent humans. This hack is just another way to prevent some tears and get through. Plus, how cute is Emmie in all these pictures on my phone!’
Plenty of moms and dads thought it was an idea both ‘genius’ and ‘brilliant’.
One wrote underneath the photos: ‘Simple child psychology. You have acknowledged her wants and taken them seriously. And you did it in a clever way. Way to go, Mom!’
‘Love it. That makes it easier all round. And child isn’t stuck with something they don’t want,’ said another.
‘My mom just threw a tantrum on the floor of the store with me. Never whined in the store again,’ one man joked.