Pranking your loved ones can be a recipe for a great memory if pulled off right. The era of the internet has pushed the practical joke pastime to the center of TikTok and YouTube videos alike.
As a TikTok creator-turned-concerned dad realized recently, it’s never too early to establish appropriate boundaries — which he discovered after his 6-year-old went straight for the worst thing she could imagine.
Get out of the way, Winston Bishop!
There is nothing more adorable than little kids trying something for the first time. Trying new things helps kids learn about the world they live in, and the boundaries of societal norms. That second point is imperative when it comes to boundary-pushing shenanigans like pranks.
@Mrcultdaddy mostly uses his platform on TikTok to talk about societal issues that bother him, weird facts, and media he’s consumed, but occasionally he shares snippets of his personal life – including stories of his young kids. After his 6-year-old daughter sweetly asserted that she wanted to prank her 3-year-old brother, the TikToker couldn’t help but fork over the phone.
There was one caveat to her question; Dad wasn’t allowed to come along. Thank goodness he did, otherwise, we might never have discovered the dark consequences of all those dead Disney parents.
Shoving the phone in her toddler brother’s face, she shares some unbelievable news: “Guess what, Brooks?” she asks. “Mom died. Mom died in a car accident, mom’s never coming home, she’s dead.”
Commentators who identified as older sisters were quick to come to the tiny prankster’s defense.
“As an older sister,” one wrote, “this is a cannon event.”
“OH she was getting STARTED on that older sister trauma,” laughed another.
The father of two was quick to step in and assure his son that mom was, in fact, very much alive. But when he tried to use the teachable moment, his daughter was less than interested. After all, it was just a prank.
Parents in the comments were quick to share their own – and their children’s – misadventures in pranking.
“My 4yo told me for April Fools he wanted us to leave the house on foot so when his 7yo brother came home he’d think we’d disappeared and left him behind,” a commenter posted. “The reason? He has NIGHTMARES ABOUT THAT.”
“I fully convinced my little brother I had a beach in my room,” shared another. “When he came to see I threw a pitcher of water in his face…. He didn’t knock on my bedroom door for years after.”
The escalation reminded TikTokers of another notoriously bad pranker: New Girl’s Winston Bishop. The character, played by comedian Lamorne Morris, had a penchant for jumping off the deep end of the prank pool. Throughout the series’ seven-season run, Winston sabotaged a wedding, released a badger into an air duct, and registered Nick as a sex offender.
The adorable anecdote served as a wonderful teachable moment for this dad and a reminder that it’s never too soon to rewatch New Girl. Let’s just hope the little brother involved in this prank doesn’t have a permanent Mandela effect surrounding the reports of his mom’s death, which were greatly exaggerated.