By Daniella GrayShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA mom from Queensland, Australia, faced the brutal honesty of her almost 2-year-old daughter when she made it very clear she preferred a different parent for midnight comfort.
Tracy Fleay (@tracy.jane.home) shared footage from her toddler’s Nanit baby monitor on TikTok where the almost 2-year-old calls out, “Dad? Daddy you there?”
But when Tracy walks into the room to break the news that her husband, James, is in fact asleep, Isla sighs in protest: “Not again! I wanted daddy!”
...The Fleays have a tag-team approach to the nightly wake-ups. While Tracy gets up for Isla, James tends to their eldest daughter, 3-year-old Sienna.
“She very honestly expressed that I was not the parent she had in mind to fetch her,” Tracy told Newsweek. “It was such a classic toddler moment—completely unfiltered, sweet, a little bit brutal, and so relatable for any parent who has ever been the ‘wrong’ choice at bedtime.”
According to the mom of two, Isla’s vocabulary is developing quickly, and her flair for the dramatic made her “Not again!” funnier still.
“[She] has a big personality and is very expressive and dramatic for her age, so we always know she’s going to come out with some absolute pearlers,” Tracy said.
Despite the humbling rejection, the mom of two could see the funny side. “Toddlers say exactly what they think, and that’s what makes this age so funny and heart-melting,” she said. “I didn’t take it personally at all; if anything, it made me laugh because I know she also knows that dad will put her straight into our bed.”
Tracy’s clip has gone viral on TikTok, clocking up 1.7 million views. Hundreds of users commented on the clip, with many parents who empathized with being the “wrong” parent at bedtime.
“My toddler has only been wanting dad to change her diapers this year. I’m not complaining,” one user laughed.
“‘Not again’ how do you think I feel girl,” another mom joked.
A third user commented, “Wish mine would reject me a little.”
Tracy summed up just how “brutal” toddlers can be. In her experience, one minute they love you “so much” and the next, they’re asking for the other parent at 2 a.m.
“Honestly, it’s quite funny when they’re so boldly announcing that you’re not the preferred parent, even though they’re the one who just woke you up and dragged you out of bed,” Tracy laughed. “It’s innocent, it’s honest, and yes, sometimes a little brutal.”
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