Aunt tries to trick her identical twin’s toddlers — but they outsmart her in seconds

Dressed in pajamas and a T-shirt to match her identical twin sister, Aunt B gave it her best shot at fooling her sister's kids,  but was outsmarted within seconds. After all, what toddler doesn’t know their own mom? Kids might not always say what they’re thinking, but they have an uncanny ability to sense when something’s off, especially when it comes to their parents. That’s exactly what makes this light-hearted TikTok prank both hilarious and heartwarming.

In a video posted by @washburntwins, which has now racked up over 5.8 million views, a mom and her identical twin sister, affectionately known as Aunt B, decide to pull a prank on her nephew and niece. Aunt B, dressed just like Mom, takes over the morning routine and serves the girls breakfast as they come downstairs. At first glance, everything seems perfectly normal. The question on screen reads: “How long will it take the kids to notice? Not long at all. The older sibling instantly catches on. The clever son clearly knows his mom better and is a mommy's boy.  With one sharp look at Aunt B, he senses something isn’t right. It’s not the clothes or the hair, but he just knows. Despite the identical appearance, she knows that’s not her mom. The younger sibling takes a little longer, seemingly more distracted by dad, but once the real mom walks out, even she clearly sees the difference.

Viewers couldn’t get enough of the kids’ reactions and filled the comments with love and laughs. “The way the littlest one looked Aunt B up and down,” wrote @Sarah. “I love how she’s like, well I know that guy is Dad so I want him,” joked @13_morgan_13.“ One skeptical look up and down is all it took. Nope!” said @tygrenierart.“It’s the voice. When she asked the question, something in her voice gave her away because both kids immediately knew,” added @steven_hendricks.

Even with the perfect twin lookalike, there’s no fooling a child who knows their parent’s presence, voice, and energy inside out. Aunt B gave it her best shot, but these little ones weren’t buying it. Children, even from very early on, are wired to know their mother, often by scent or voice more than anything else. Research confirms it.

A  study using fMRI found that children aged 7 to 12 can identify their mother's voice with 97% accuracy in less than one second, even when listening to made-up words. The mother's voice triggered activity not only in auditory regions but also in brain areas tied to reward, emotion, and self‑perception. 

And when it comes to smell, newborns show a clear preference for their mother’s scent. Experiments revealed that breastfed babies distinguish their mother’s underarm odor from that of unfamiliar women even within just a couple of weeks after birth. So when toddlers spot their real mom, or immediately know something’s wrong even with a convincing twin impersonating her, they’re drawing on these deep sensory bonds: a familiar scent, a unique tone of voice. 

For more videos like this, you can follow @washburntwins on TikTok!