Mom uses a cup of water to teach her 7-year-old son a lesson on 'people-pleasing' — and it's spot on
A mom on TikTok, Gee Gee Davidson (@queenn_gee), is being praised for teaching an important life lesson to her 7-year-old son. Her simple yet significant message about people-pleasing behavior prompts every parent to rethink what they teach their kids. Davidson is also a professional childcare provider. The thoughtful conversation mainly sheds light on self-worth and boundaries. However, what caught everybody's attention was the mom's unique approach to teaching her son valuable life lessons. She uses brilliant visual examples - two cups of water and some dirt.
The cups of water that she uses represent her son. The one on the left with a yellow figure in front symbolizes low self-esteem and self-love. On the right, the cup with a green figure is a symbol of confidence and self-acceptance. On the other hand, the rock and the dirt-filled bottle symbolize external negativity that one is exposed to in their daily lives. Giving her son some real-life examples, Davidson first talks about people disliking his braided hairstyle. Although it is something he loves, if he agrees with others, it would mean he is letting the negativity in, reports Motherly.
Davidson goes on to give a couple more examples to ensure her son is able to grasp the important teaching. She shares with him the right way to respond when someone offers unsolicited opinions. She advises him to say, "Well, if you don't like it, you don't have to hang out with me." Towards the end, Davidson says, "Never dim your light or let other people's opinions define you. Always stay true to yourself." When she asks her son what he learnt, he says, “I learned that if somebody says they don’t like how I am, I’m allowed to speak up and say, that’s your opinion. You don’t have to be around me. I’m going to go do my own thing.”
As the video went viral, social media users took to the comment section to praise Davidson for her thoughtful and responsible parenting paired with an impactful demonstration. One TikTok user, @makaylaa0405, commented, “This is gentle parenting. I love this so much. You’re an amazing mamma, he’s gonna be an amazing young man when he’s older!” Another person, @micaela_xoxo, wrote, “As a therapist who works with kids & teens, this is amazing to see you teaching this so young. I see so many teens and adults struggling with people pleasing. This takes time, and you took the time.”
@queenn_gee Don’t conform to other’s expectations, not even mine Son #gentleparenting #positiveparenting #teachingkids #lifelessons #soloparent #singlemoms #momsoftiktok #braydenandgeegee #queenngee ♬ original sound - GeeGee: Inspirational Mom
Similarly, @clippedinlove opined, “It’s so important to teach the future generation of kids these lessons before this happens, especially with social media nowadays.” Davidson revealed that it was her personal experiences that made her realize the common yet critical issues we struggle with in our daily lives. Speaking of her childhood, she revealed she always tried to fit in with others, despite not actually wanting to. Therefore, right from the time she was pregnant, Davidson was determined to raise her child to know his self-worth. With this simple experiment, she taught her son to love himself, no matter what.
You can follow @queen_gee for more parenting videos.