Florida mom throws daughter’s iPad out the window on the way to school. People are on the mom’s side: ‘I love good parenting’
Somewhere between “gentle parenting” and “yeet it into traffic” lies a very Florida solution. In an insanely viral TikTok, one fed-up mom casually confesses that she didn’t just threaten to confiscate her daughter’s iPad on the drive to school, she full-on launched it out the car window. In what viewers are calling a classic FAFO situation, this mom has most of the internet on her side. So the question is, what made her do it? And even better, what makes everyone side with the mom over the kid?
‘I Knew You Wouldn’t Do It’
Every parent knows what it’s like to get their patience tested daily. While many rely on threats to get their kids to behave, some kids already know the system. Threats are sometimes just threats and nothing more.
Except with Paige (@mrs.lunchbox_). Her casual retelling of the story has accumulated almost 11 million views and another combined 11 million for her other clips on the topic. In the TikTok that explains how the whole saga started, Paige begins with, “It’s me. I’m the mom who threw her daughter’s iPad out the window yesterday on the way to school.”
Since she first posted about what happened, Paige received some comments about how the child shouldn’t have had the iPad before school to begin with. Paige admits that that is usually the case, but on that day, she was trying to reward her daughter’s previous good behavior by letting her use it on the way.
Apparently, her daughter began misbehaving during the car ride, which led Paige to say, “If you don’t stop, I’m gonna throw your iPad out the window.” The daughter replies that she “doesn’t care,” and when Paige grabs it away from her, she adds, “See? I knew you wouldn’t throw it out the window.” Paige makes a face at the camera and says, “She done messed up.”
What Happened to the iPad?
Paige shares that she just rolled down the window, tossed the iPad out, and kept on driving. Meanwhile, the daughter in the backseat is demanding to be let out of the car to go retrieve the device. True to her methods, Paige refuses and sends her right to school. As she picks her up at the end of the day, the daughter immediately shares that she told all her classmates that “my mommy threw my iPad out the window this morning.” According to her, all the other children were flabbergasted.
In another update clip, Paige records going back to see if the iPad is still where she flung it. Lo and behold, the bright purple case quickly catches the eye. She takes it home and records another clip to reveal the damage and the next steps she’ll take with her daughter.
She says, “Number one, she’s not getting it back. Number two, she does know that we have it.” Paige says she didn’t want to lie to her daughter when she said she knew the parents had it. Paige revealed that yes, they do, but it doesn’t mean she’ll get it back. As of that day, the iPad is locked in their safe.
As for the damage, Paige holds up the iPad, and a web of cracks covers one of the corners. She explains that it was already cracking in some places, but the huge “gouge” in the corner definitely came from hurling it out the window.
What is Gentle Parenting?
This term has been thrown around quite a lot, especially in Gen Z common spaces like X (formerly known as Twitter), Reddit, and TikTok. Gentle parenting surfaced as an antithesis to the usual punishment and reward system. Instead, parents work on “improving a child’s self-awareness and understanding of their own behavior” (Cleveland Clinic). While many think of it as just a byproduct of Gen Z, others highlight how this is how parenting is supposed to be.
A year ago, someone posted on the r/RandomThoughts subreddit asking if Gen Z came up with gentle parenting and why it existed. One Redditor shares, “I always viewed it as boomers traumatized millennials so much that millennials call being a decent parent ‘gentle parenting’. No hitting or screaming. Asking why kids are upset and creating a solution. Telling kids it’s ok to talk to mom and dad. Finding healthy ways to regulate emotions. Being kind to others.”
@mrs.lunchbox_ Standing on business story time iPad saga
♬ original sound – Paige Carter
What is FAFO?
Along with the comments mentioning gentle parenting, even more spoke about this now-famous acronym. FAFO means “[Expletive] Around, Find Out,” essentially meaning “play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”
Merriam-Webster has a more polite acronym: “Fool Around, Find Out.” In the simplest way, it just means every action has a consequence. Therefore, Paige’s daughter misbehaving and taunting her mother? The consequence to be expected was her iPad being tossed out the window. This is why so many viewers are on the mother’s side. If the daughter were undeserving of such a consequence, it would have been said. But because she chose to keep acting the way she shouldn’t, she really “found out” that not all threats are empty. The viewers take glee in this feeling of “I told you so.”
‘She basically double dog dared you to do it.’
Many take part in congratulating Paige’s parenting style. A comment with 13,000 likes says, “I love good parenting.”
“Stand on business mama,” says another. One viewer says, “As a teacher, if i heard a student in my class say their mom threw their ipad out the window, id be like NICE! thank god.”
“Girl sometimes you gotta be tough and that’s okay. Lessons got to be learned,” shares one viewer.
Some choose to comment on children’s behavior nowadays. One viewer says, “Kids are so manipulative I noticed this with my nieces and nephews…they will test you and if you don’t stand on business they will run all over you!!”
Another says, “She’s not listening bc of the iPad in the first place tbh.”
One viewer says, “As a psychology student; never state a potential consequence to your child that you aren’t willing to follow through with.”
The Mary Sue reached out to the creator via TikTok direct message.
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