Woman With A PhD In Child Development Shares 9 ‘Crazy’ Things She Does As A Mom

Not all parenting advice works for every parent. Sometime this can be frustrating and stressful for parents. They might wonder why something that seems to work for other parents doesn’t work for their children. They might blame themselves or think they’re doing something wrong.

Dr. Kristyn Sommer has a PhD in child development. She is also a mom, and she wants to help other parents feel better about the way they parent. She’s doing this by sharing unconventional parenting advice on TikTok.

Sommer lives in Australia with her husband and their almost 2-year-old daughter. She told Bored Panda that her first viral video was about her husband and how he supported her when she was suffering from postnatal anxiety.

After the first video went viral, Sommer decided to share a video “about crazy things I do as a mum in child development that I thought might surprise people.”  She explained, “I started posting content busting parenting myths that I know make parents feel guilty/insecure/uncomfortable with the goal of empowering them into taking charge of raising their own kids their own way (which was something I wished I had someone do for me in the early days of parenting). And now we’re here!”

Scroll down for 9 examples of Sommer’s “crazy” parenting advice that really works for her.

  1. Getting Messy

    @drkristynsommerDid you know that getting messy was so important? ##sensoryplay ##messyplay ##childsplay ##playbasedlearning ##toddlertok ##sensoryactivities

    ♬ original sound – DrKristynSommer

  2. Screen Time

    @drkristynsommerThe last time I did one of these it went viral 😂 ##dontcomeforme ##please ##momhack ##momlife ##mumhack ##toddlertok ##studypackhack ##parenting

    ♬ original sound – DrKristynSommer

  3. Eating Habits

    @drkristynsommerBut it’s still annoying having to make a million snacks a day ##responsiveparenting ##gentleparenting ##toddlertok ##healthyeating ##foodrelationship

    ♬ original sound – DrKristynSommer

  4. Baby Talk

    @drkristynsommerHow should you speak to your baby? ##parentinghacks ##parenting ##parentingtips ##parentinglife ##parenthood ##motherhood ##momlife

    ♬ original sound – DrKristynSommer

  5. ABCs and 123s

    @drkristynsommerPlay > rote learning for toddlers 🙌 ##playbasedlearning ##learningthroughplay ##playmatters ##earlylearning ##earlychildhoodeducation ##preschool ##toddler

    ♬ original sound – DrKristynSommer

  6. No Crib

    @drkristynsommerAge appropriate independence is valuable ##childdevelopment ##montessori ##montessoritoddler ##montessoriathome ##montessorimom

    ♬ original sound – DrKristynSommer

  7. Lazy Parenting

    @drkristynsommerLazy parenting ftw ##parenting ##montessori ##lazyparenting ##freerangeparenting ##gentleparenting ##positiveparenting ##toddlertok

    ♬ original sound – DrKristynSommer

  8. Daycare Drop Off

    @drkristynsommerDaycare drops are the worst 🥺 ##parenting ##gentleparenting ##respectfulparenting ##evidencebasedparenting ##edutok ##toddlertok

    ♬ original sound – DrKristynSommer

  9. Therapy

    @drkristynsommerIf you’re not motivated to do it for you, do it for your kid ##dobetter ##raisethemkind ##raisethemstrong ##gethelp ##ppd ##therapy

    ♬ original sound – DrKristynSommer