A woman has shared the messages her sister sent after offering to look after her children for five days, and the internet is in stitches over the exchange.
Christianna Peterson was preparing to say goodbye to her kids for almost a week but they returned from their aunt's early.
Peterson, from Liverpool, England, told Newsweek that the online reaction to the interaction has been "crazy." She said she was "shocked" after the carousel of messages posted on TikTok amassed over 2.5 million views overnight.
Acknowledging how lucky she is to have people offering her childcare, Peterson told Newsweek: "I have a child with additional needs and one [is] being assessed at the moment too, so to have family wanting to take them is amazing as they can be quite hard work at times."
Posting the thread of messages on TikTok, the 26-year-old wrote this text overlay: "Your sister practically begs to take all three kids for five days and promises they'll be fine."
At first, Peterson's sister, Emilia, begins by asking her sister for some guidance.
Some of the messages read: Should ur [sic] child not be hungry again by now? Is it normal that Layton has had a poo 3 times today? I'm abit [sic] concerned because surely that's not normal. Why is ur [sic] child drinking the bath water."
As you swipe through the carousel, the messages take a turn for the worse, with Emilia texting Peterson to say she's "sobbing" and has "never been so sad."
People on TikTok seemed to resonate with Emilia's experience of being overwhelmed. One commented, "My nephew made me cry the first time I babysat him lol took me years to recover."
Another said: "Okay but the way she expressed her stress was so sweet lol didn't actually complain or talk bad about the kids. Good relationship right there."
A third praised Emilia for offering childcare and recognized how hard it can be to look after someone else's kids: "That was very thoughtful! But until you do it, it's hard to understand how hard it is."
Peterson agreed and replied that she thought her sister had done a great job.
Others were astonished that Emilia proposed to have her nieces and nephews for five days in the first place, with one TikTok user commenting: "5 days?! That's wild. I watch my nephew for a few hours and I'm good."
One mom, who also has three children like Peterson, shared: "People act like I'm overreacting when I say I'm overwhelmed and outnumbered. Like of course I'm touched out. I haven't slept in years. I need to give people a chance to watch all 3 I guess so they see."
Peterson replied that she's "lucky" to have support around her when she needs it. She told Newsweek: "Their dad is amazing and very much involved, so it's a nice support system for us both, and I know not many have that."
About the writer
Daniella Gray is a Newsweek Family & Parenting Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on family dynamics, childhood ... Read more
