A North Carolina mother who homeschools her six children posted a heartwarming video of her spending a Friday at the library with her kids. It then attracted a lot of hate online from TikTok users, many of whom were wholly focused on attacking her character.
TikTok user Downsizing Jess (Jess) shared a tradition she and her six kids like doing on Fridays: “This is usually what our ‘homeschool Fridays’ look like—we don’t do table work, desk work, computer work, none of the work-work, okay. We come to the library or something.” All six of her children were in tow, ranging from toddlers to teenager, in addition to a newborn.
Jess then showed off her children happily zipping around the library looking for books, with Jess showing a deep interest in what they chose. “I think we came at a good time because nobody is here, so that means my children’s not going to interrupt anybody, okay,” Jess says in her TikTok video.
Most of her younger children focus on books with minimal reading and pictures, while her older ones dove into chapter books, one of which is a fiction novel about survival and another on Marvel superheroes.
Once they had their picks, Jess showed her children being self-sufficient by checking out the books themselves using the library’s self-checkout. Although her trip went very well, Jess’s only stresser was one of her youngest kids having a “pure meltdown” but they “survived.”
Viewers online unload nasty comments about Jess’s parenting and intelligence
Although Jess’s video was meant to show a sweet moment out with her kids, viewers online saw her tradition as anything but. Instead, many TikTok users left rather nasty comments about her parenting and approach to education. “I’m begging you to send them to public school 😭,” insisted one commenter.
“Teach them library etiquette,” one viewer wrote, which attracted nearly 7,000 Likes on TikTok. A weird comment to make considering her children were well-behaved and focused on finding books. Another viewer even pointed this out, saying, “Have you ever been in a public school before? These kids are behaving like saints.”
Another TikTok user made a backhanded point, suggesting parents should having teaching credentials if they’re homeschooling. Otherwise, as they put it, “This is just abuse at this point.”
Others took turns trashing Jess, making disgusting assumptions of her and her children’s intelligence:
“I feel dumber from watching this….”
“I wanna hear them read aloud”
“‘It ain’t got no pictures on it– okay well go put it back?!’ whewwww they’re cooked”
“Are the liberries next to the strawberries or the blueberries?”
Homeschooling comes with its own challenges, including fewer opportunities for children to socialize and concerns that some kids may be suffering behind closed doors. However, many viewers appeared quick to make hurtful assumptions about Jess and her family based on what was intended to be a heartwarming library trip. Whatever their views on homeschooling, encouraging children to develop a love of reading is surely something worth celebrating rather than criticizing.
