Mom says her toddler's new habit is the 'hip standing stage' — fellow parents are nodding along

Parenthood is filled with sweet surprises, mysterious developmental milestones, and laugh-out-loud moments that were perfectly captured by the 34-year-old Hannah Zachmann, a mom of four from North Dakota, in a recent viral TikTok. Zachmann, who goes by @hannahzachmann on the platform, shared an adorable and slightly chaotic clip that introduced millions of viewers to a curious toddler behavior she calls the ‘hip standing stage.’ The video has resonated widely with parents across the internet, gathering over 4 million views on TikTok alone and sparking a wave of commiseration from moms and dads who have experienced the same thing.

In the now-viral video, Zachmann can be seen attempting to carry her toddler, who is clearly not content just sitting quietly in her arms. Instead, the little one tries to scale her body like a rock climber standing on her hip and attempting to hoist himself higher up her torso. “I don’t know what stage this is, but all my kids hit it,” Zachmann says in the video, half-laughing, half-exhausted as she balances her child mid-climb. “It’s when they basically try to walk up your body while you're holding them.” She also asked the parents of TikTok, "Anyone else's babies do this?!"

The video hit home for many viewers who flooded the comments section with their own stories, many of which were hilarious and witty.  “Mine stands on the belly she left me with,” joked one mom, @Allison. Another parent, @White.Z71, chimed in stating, “My daughter turns me into a jungle gym the minute I pick her up.” Yet another user, @lavendersunshine777, summarised the experience hilariously and said, “The ‘I want to be independent but my mom and I are still at the same stage.’” One more @Claire Johnson cleverly called it the “standing on business stage,” a nod to viral internet slang for toddler tenacity.

Of course, not everyone related to the emotion. Some viewers critiqued Zachmann for calling it annoying, suggesting she simply put the child down if it was such a hassle. But seasoned moms like Zachmann know that’s easier said than done. She also made another follow-up video showing that the toddler cries after being put down, reacting to the negative comments after she used the word ‘annoying.’ A  lot of TikTok users came to her rescue, and one of them, @mutham3rcury, hinting at the others who called her out for spoiling her baby, said, "You can’t spoil a baby! They are only this small for a short amount of time!"Similarly, another user @Bri said, “You do you mama! He’s loved & happy, that’s all that matters! 

In a follow-up explanation to Newsweek, Zachmann said, "Most moms say their child has done the exact same thing," she told adding that this was not a unique behaviour. "Of course, there are always a few people who say, 'Just put him down if it's so annoying.' I'm guessing those people don't have babies of their own, because every mom knows if you put them down, they'll cry, and I'd rather hold them than let them cry!"