"Parent brain" is a very real phenomenon and Emily Vondy is here with evidence.
Normally when we hear stories about parents forgetting their children's birthdays, the parent plays the role of the villain. In Emily's case, though, she comes across as more of a sympathetic character.
She wasn't forgetting to celebrate her young son's birthday—she was just celebrating it on the wrong day. Somehow, she got the day she gave birth mixed up.
She didn't realize it until a billing issue for a doctor's visit caused confusion.
The insurance company had her son's birthday listed as February 25, but she had been celebrating it on February 26. Curious and with her phone already in her hand, she figured she would just scroll Facebook to look at his birth announcement.
Sooo ... turns out the insurance company was right.
@thevondyfam How’s your day going? #momfail #mombrain #parenting101 #sahm
To make matters worse, the kid in question is Emily's middle child.
Vondy is aware she's not doing much to battle the stereotype the middle child gets ignored.
Middle kids of TikTok totally felt for her son.
@thevondyfam/TikTok
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@thevondyfam/TikTok
But Emily was far from alone on this.
Apparently this sort of thing happens often?
@thevondyfam/TikTok
@thevondyfam/TikTok
@thevondyfam/TikTok
@thevondyfam/TikTok
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The honest confession encouraged others to share their run-ins with the dreaded "parent brain."
@thevondyfam/TikTok
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@thevondyfam/TikTok
So parents out there, cut yourselves some slack.
We can't say we've all gotten a birthday wrong—but who among us hasn't accidentally called one kid by a pet's name, totally forgot what grade the kid is in, etc...?
Parenting is hard and these young people—especially these pandemic babies—are just built different.
We need naps.
We deserve them.
We hope Emily got one.
