Okay, this may be the single most wholesome trend I’ve ever encountered on TikTok, honestly.
These parents are breaking generational trauma. They took phrases that were common for parents of the last few generations to use, but that we now recognize as harmful or toxic (either always or in some uses), and tested whether their kids were familiar with them.
The way these kids finish phrases, most of us are very familiar with, is honestly beautiful.
I Brought You Into This World
The single most common phrase parents test in these videos is “I brought you into this world and…”
We’ve heard parents finish this with “…and I’ll take you out of it.”
Most of the kids in these videos have clearly never heard that, though. Instead, they finish the sentence with suggestions like:
“…and I’ll feed you.”
“…and I’ll love you.”
“…so I could live.”
And, my personal favorite, “…to be your bestie.”
Children Should Be Seen
The phrase “children should be seen and not heard” dates to at least the 1400s — but as we all know, it was still common at least as recently as the last few decades. I heard it in the ’90s, but thankfully not from my own adults.
However, if you ask a child in 2025 to finish the phrase “children should be seen and…” you’ll get much better endings.
One child tried, “Children should be seen at school.”
Another suggested, “Children should be seen every day.”
Yet another determined that the phrase should go, “Kids should be seen and loved.”
One of the younger kids finished the sentence with, “A unicorn!”
I Love You But
When you throw the word “but” in, there’s rarely anything good coming.
This phrase, which is probably one of the most toxic in the list, has a few variations, but the general idea is “I love you, but I don’t like you right now.”
Why are we ever telling our kids we don’t like them? We all need breaks, and we all get frustrated, but there’s no way that’s good for our babies’ mental health!
As these parents tried out the phrase, their kids found alternative ways to complete it.
“I love you, but…” the parent offers.
Kids offered:
“….I’ll feed you.” (Okay, this one family clearly had food on their minds during filming.)
“…I’m scared of you, child.”
“…even when I’m mad, I love you.”
One child absolutely couldn’t come up with a response!
She asked her mom, “Why would you say ‘I love you but‘?”
I’ll Give You Something To
Telling your crying child, “I’ll give you something to cry about,” suggesting that you’ll punish them for expressing their emotions, is seriously damaging. It’s an excellent way to raise kids who are afraid to share their feelings with you, and to grow adults who don’t know how to handle their emotions.
What else might you give your crying child?
Of course, one kid’s suggestion was “I’ll give you something to eat!”
Another suggested the phrase might be about giving a child “…something to climb!”
Other Phrases That Make The List
The parents experimenting with this trend also tried out some other toxic phrases.
For instance, one mom started the phrase, “Just wait until your dad gets home!”
Her child was not familiar with a situation in which one parent uses those words to make the other parent the scary enforcer, though.
Instead, she suggested that “Just wait until…” might be finished with “…until you’re older.”
Another great one is, “As long as you live under my roof,” typically finished with, “you will obey my rules.”
This can be toxic because it’s used to shut down kids who want to make their feelings or views known. Sure, parents should have and enforce rules for their kids’ protection, but this sets up a system where they expect to have no input.
This kid felt that a more appropriate ending would be “…you have to be nice.”
Another mom tested whether her child would recognize the phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
When she prompted with “Do what I say and not…” her son finished, “…not go away!”