Woman Says She Puts Her Kids in Boxes to Get Her "Me Time" and People are Fuming
That’s one way to clean your house in peace.
A woman has caused online outrage after sharing her favorite method of keeping her kids out of the way: Putting them in a cardboard box. Gabrielle Dunn has gone viral for admitting she places her two children in an (open) box, where they are contained as she enjoys typical mom "me time" such as cleaning the house without interruptions. While some have lauded her creativity, others are slamming the mother for her unorthodox parenting hack. Here's what people have to say.
Putting Two Kids In a Box
Dunn posted a video on TikTok where she details the reasoning behind putting her kids in the box. The post has racked up over 11 million views so far. "This buys me 30 minutes of unbothered cleaning," Dunn says in text over the video as 'Gangsta's Paradise' by Coolio plays.
30 Minutes Of Peace and Quiet
Dunn shows her two kids in the cardboard box, armed with markers which they use to happily color the inside of the box. Meanwhile, Dunn is seen working away in the background, tidying her home and using a vacuum. The children seem absorbed in their activity and leave Dunn in peace to clean up.
Genius Hack Or Bad Idea?
Dunn was inspired by a video posted by user @abbyfranco6, and had to try it for herself. It clearly worked—the toddlers were contained and Dunn had a productive half hour. "PURE GENIUS," Dunn wrote in the caption of her TikTok. "Glad we hadn't broken the box down yet!!"
Teaching Babies To Graffiti?
The reaction to her baby box was split between people who thought it was a genius idea and those who thought it was outrageous. "You are just teaching them how to draw on the walls," one commenter said. "My paranoia could not let me do anything else while I watch the kiddos to make sure they don't put the small broken pieces of crayon in their mouth 😬," agreed another.
Just a Modern Playpen
Other commenters thoroughly approved of boxing the kids. "OMG THIS IS AMAZING!!!" one said. "My little girl is an absolute nightmare with crayons, pencils etc & wants to draw everywhere!! I know what I'm away to go get!!" Another person pointed out the box was simply a no-frills version of a playpen. "My mom used a playpen in the 1960s for us little ones to keep us occupied and safe," they said.
