When it comes to raising small kids, dealing with sudden meltdowns and public tantrums is part of the gig. But it's also way harder than it looks. Destiny Bennett knows this all too well. The 29-year-old from Las Vegas is mom to a 5-year-old son named Cash, who's no stranger to having "big feelings" of his own. But during one of his recent outbursts, Bennett did her best to try to remain calm — and her methods for diffusing the whole situation are now going super viral.
The meltdown was captured on Bennett's Ring camera
But that actually isn't the part she chose to share with her legion of TikTok followers. Instead, Bennett (AKA @thebennettgang), shared the conversation she had with Cash immediately after his blow-up — and as a lot of people are now pointing out, it's like watching a masterclass on conscious parenting.
In it, Bennett and Cash are both outside on the front stoop
Bennett is kneeling so she can talk with her son at eye level, as she gently holds his little hands in hers. Then, she begins talking to him calmly.
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"I can see how angry you are, and I want you to feel better," Bennett says to her son in the video. "Sometimes, feeling better is getting the things that we want, but sometimes we can’t get the things we want. And it’s OK to be angry, but then we have to be able to let it go and understand that we’re not going to get it and we have to find another way to make our body feel better."
And then, the mom says six magic words ...
"I need you to love you," she tells him.
" … OK?"
The entire exchange is brief, lasting no more than 30 seconds. And yet Bennett's calm and cool demeanor somehow manages to set everything right again — just like that.
Her son is no longer yelling or crying; she's no longer feeling frustrated, either. In fact, it's hard to believe that just a moment ago, she was ready to lose it.
Bennett isn't exactly a newbie to this whole parenting thing
According to Today Parents, she's also mom to an 8-year-old and a 3-year-old, and often shares her gentle parenting techniques on TikTok and Instagram. Much of this, she says, has stemmed from her own journey healing from past traumas.
That morning, a fight had apparently broken out among the siblings over LEGOs, and it triggered a BIG reaction from her 5-year-old.
"He's a very emotional child and sometimes logic just … goes out the window," Bennett explained.
Soon, tensions escalated, and even she was getting pulled into the anger of it all.
"I found myself getting frustrated because I knew he was having a right brain moment — it was all emotion, no logic," Bennett recalled. "There was no reasoning with him."
But as soon as she took a breath, moved him outside, and started leveling with him one-on-one, the mood instantly shifted.
According to Bennett, her tone made all the difference
"I knelt down at the door and was like, 'OK, let's have this talk,'" she told Today. "'Because mommy is on the verge of tears right now and I need to level with you.'"
Clearly, it paid off.
Just days after sharing the clip on TikTok, Bennett's video has now been viewed more than 56,000 times. It's also getting high praise from parents who've walked in her shoes.
In the comments, people couldn't seem to hold back their own emotions
“I’m literally cryingggggg,” wrote one person.
“Those are some powerful words,” added someone else.
“Thank you for awakening us,” said another person. “We need to focus on the positivity and work each issue this way. Awesome mom!”
Dozens of others said they wished their own parents had spoken to them this way
“My inner child needed to hear this on repeat …,“ wrote one person.
“Oh how I wish I had had someone talk to me like this in my own childhood,” added another. “I never heard ‘I love you’ until I met my husband. It’s still hard to verbalize.”
But most of all, people congratulated her for hard parenting done right
Because as difficult as managing tantrums can be, few parents are able to truly regulate their own emotions while trying to calm their child.
"What an amazing parenting moment," one person told her. "Good job mama!"
“You're breaking cycles,” another person added. “We all wish to reach our children, but the approaches in which we reach them are crucial for them … and us."
Breaking cycles is right. But the fact that Bennett is inspiring (and teaching) others how to do the same in the process is … well, pretty priceless.
