{"id":382706,"date":"2026-04-09T06:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T06:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/382706\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T06:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T06:18:09","slug":"the-problem-with-the-viral-jessica-tantrum-trick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/382706\/","title":{"rendered":"The problem with the viral ‘Jessica’ tantrum trick"},"content":{"rendered":"

A single word is stopping toddler tantrums in their tracks \u2014 and it\u2019s not what you might expect. Video after video on TikTok and Instagram shows children melting down until their parents randomly shout out the name \u201cJessica<\/a>.\u201d That brief moment of confusion \u2014 \u201cwho is Jessica?\u201d \u2014 is enough to break the spiral.<\/p>\n

In one clip<\/a>, which has garnered 1.2 million likes, mom Krislyn Kuhn shows her toddler in tears until Kuhn suddenly shouts, \u201cJessica! Jessica, are you here?\u201d Her daughter, clearly puzzled, stops and looks around for this mysterious person. According to Kuhn, her daughter started playing right afterward, \u201clike no tantrum even happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mom Gabby Sandoval posted that her son was crying over having to take a nap, so she decided to try the method. He gasped when Sandoval said the name \u2014 and then started laughing. \u201cThis Jessica trend really works,\u201d she wrote. (No word on whether he actually took that nap.)<\/p>\n

Reyhauna, another mom, said that her 16-month-old has been struggling with weaning. Then she tried the \u201cJessica\u201d hack<\/a>, and her toddler stopped crying in seconds. One mom commented that just hearing Reyhauna call out \u201cJessica\u201d in the video made her own 14-month-old stop screaming.<\/p>\n

So how does the trick help tame tantrums? And what are the hidden downsides parents may not realize?<\/p>\n

How it works<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that there\u2019s something magical about the name Jessica (no offense to the Jessicas of the world) \u2014 parents can just as easily shout out, \u201cFred!\u201d and likely get the same results. Experts say it\u2019s more about the element of surprise.<\/p>\n

Psychologist Sarah Lebovitz Suria<\/a> says the method works because it\u2019s an example of redirection. \u201cWhen a toddler is in the middle of a meltdown, their brain is completely overwhelmed and they cannot calm themselves down yet,\u201d Suria tells Yahoo. \u201cShouting a random name like \u2018Jessica\u2019 catches them off guard and pulls their attention somewhere new. Their brain stops and thinks, Wait, what just happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

Suria explains that a shift in attention is enough to interrupt a spiral, and it works especially well with toddlers, since it\u2019s still easy to get them to focus elsewhere. \u201cThey are not yet stuck in their feelings the way older kids or adults can be,\u201d she says. \u201cA good surprise can genuinely reset the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The drawbacks to consider<\/p>\n

Suria says that when used occasionally, the hack is harmless. But over time, \u201cparents may find themselves needing increasingly novel tricks to achieve the same effect, and the child never develops the ability to work through big emotions on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the only limitation. Even though it can get kids out of an emotional loop, it\u2019s not an actual calming tool. \u201cIt stops the behavior, but it doesn’t teach the child anything about identifying or managing the feeling that triggered the tantrum in the first place,\u201d Suria says.<\/p>\n

Pediatrician Madison Szar also believes that a hack is not a substitute for connection. She told Motherly<\/a> that once the meltdown passes, it\u2019s important for parents to comfort their child, whether that\u2019s offering a hug or validating their feelings, such as saying, \u201cI see that you were upset. I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

But beyond that, some experts also take issue with filming children at their most vulnerable moments and posting these videos online. \u201cEven at 2 or 3 years old, kids are entitled to privacy, and you don\u2019t have a kid\u2019s permission for it,\u201d clinical psychologist Barbara Greenberg<\/a> tells Yahoo.<\/p>\n

Suria agrees. \u201cWhen a child is dysregulated, what they need is a present, attuned parent, not one stepping back to document the moment. There’s also a real consent issue: A young child has no meaningful say in having their behavior on display publicly \u2014 and that content doesn’t disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n