A busy dad could barely believe his eyes at the scene that greeted him when he went to check on his two-year-old son.
Ricky Gregory, from Middlesbrough in the UK, turned his back on his son George for a matter of minutes to clean up after dinner.
“My wife had taken the baby upstairs to bathe her and get ready for bed,” Gregory told Newsweek. “She asked me to clear the plates and load the dishwasher whilst the 2 year old was downstairs with me.”
Though he was busy, Gregory was confident of keeping George in check while he sorted things out. “The house is actually open plan so I was only actually a few meters away,” he said. “If he called my name I would have heard him no problem.”
When Gregory headed off into the kitchen, George was busy watching something on his tablet. Gregory estimates he was gone anywhere between “5 to 10 minutes maximum.” That was all the time his young son needed to cause havoc.
As Gregory returned to the living room, he quickly realized George was no longer watching something on his tablet. Nothing could prepare him for what his son had done though.
“He had proceeded to empty the coal scuttle from the side of the fire and throw them on the sofa,” Gregory said.
The fallout from George’s coal scuttling spree was captured in a video posted to Gregory’s TikTok @athomewiththegregorys, which has amassed more than 200,000 views since being shared at the end of last month. “The time it takes to switch on the dishwasher is all a 2 year old needs to destroy your sofa,” the accompanying caption read.
“Quite often he likes to ‘make a mess’ but this time it was a bit more than emptying his ball pit or baskets of toys in the play room on the floor,” Gregory said. “Instead he was emptying the coal scuttle piece by piece, throwing them on the sofa.”
The couch wasn’t the only thing that was left in a mess with Gregory noting that George looked like he had been “sweeping the chimney” when he was done.
Despite what happened, Gregory was able to stay calm and even see the funny side in it all. He later filmed a follow-up video with George that saw them talk through what happened.
Though George seemed to acknowledge he was “naughty” for throwing the “rocks” on the couch and expressed regret, Gregory couldn’t help but laugh when his son admitted he would probably do it again.
It’s a positive interaction and good example to other parents. Writing for the website Nurtured First, psychotherapist Jess Vanderwier explained the importance of parents today choosing empathy over anger when it comes to the mistakes their kids make.
Vanderwier believes it’s crucial to create a “more empathetic, understanding environment” for young kids in the home. She wrote: “By choosing empathy over anger, understanding over punishment, and collaboration over control, we can raise children who are resilient, emotionally intelligent, and confident in their ability to learn and grow from their experiences.”
Though some have expressed concern this kind of approach might lead to children developing a sense of entitlement over the lack of strict boundaries, many see it as a positive pivot away from more traditional parenting styles.
Psychology Dr. Martha Deiros Collado believes some firmness is required. She previously told Newsweek: “The most-effective parenting style is one where children are met with love, empathy and respect alongside firm boundaries that keep them and others safe.” Another leading psychologist also stressed the importance of gentle parenting among moms and dads today.
Gregory and his wife are not especially worried about the damage done to the couch anyway. They knew this day would come. When Gregory’s wife was pregnant, they decided to get their couch covered on insurance, in the event something like this would happen. Although not quite like this.
“We had kind of foreseen something like this happening at some point but expected crayons or felt tips as most kids usually do not coal and coal dust bedding on a pile on the sofa,” he joked.
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