Viral ‘Jessica’ trick is calming toddlers’ temper tantrums — and moms couldn't be more grateful

Are you a parent who can't handle your toddler's temper tantrums? Well, if so, the "Jessica" trend might be what you need to calm their meltdowns. Exhausted from continuous yelling, parents have apparently been screaming "Jessica!" mid-conversation — and surprisingly, every time, toddlers instantly stop crying and start looking around, searching for this mystery woman. For instance, Haley Danielle, a mom who goes by @haleydanielle081006 on TikTok, was shocked to see her little daughter's unexpected reaction to "Jessica" in the middle of her tantrum outburst. She posted the video on April 10, which went viral with 1.4 million views in four days. 

As per the video, the toddler was being stubborn about using a discharged device. Danielle tried her best to calm her down and handle her daughter peacefully, but nothing worked on the upset kid. At last, with no other option left, the mom decided to put the trend to the test. To her surprise, her daughter immediately stopped crying and stood leaning against the couch, as if she were looking out for Jessica. "I don't know what Jessica means to these kids, but she ran for cover," Danielle wrote in her caption. 

Another creator, Emily Whaley (@emily_whaley02), also tried the "Jessica trend" on her cousin's baby and was shocked by the outcome. Her nephew was crying about the dirty trash can placed at a height that he couldn't reach. Frustrated, the kid launched a full-scale tear operation that went on for what seemed like forever. "No, you can't have the trash can," Whaley said, trying to calm her nephew. However, instead of calming down, the boy continued demanding the trash can. At the end, Whaley screamed, "Jessica!" and within seconds, her nephew calmed down and looked at her in shock, as if he had seen a ghost.

Tierney Ashford (@tierneysennet), another mom of two boys, swears by the Jessica Trend. As her younger son refused to have chicken before his favorite watermelon, the mom started calling the mystery woman to her rescue. Initially, the kid did not stop; in fact, he also started screaming "no!" as his mom tried to calm him down. However, seconds later, the toddler saw his elder brother, Ashford, also calling out for someone he knew was not there. "Where are you, Jessica?" Ashford continued saying, and eventually it worked, with her son ultimately agreeing to eat his food peacefully.

While it is interesting to see so many kids falling for the viral trend, Kaiser Permanente, a child psychologist, shared why it may be working on them in an interview with 11Alive. "When kids are having tantrums, basically toddlers... they kind of get stuck in their emotions in that moment. So what this does (screaming Jessica) is it really just kind of breaks the loop of the emotion that they are in," she explained.

Also, toddler tantrums are more common and predictable than they seem. A 2024 study shows that up to 95% of children aged 1-6 experience tantrums, and for many, these outbursts can happen as often as once a day on average. According to Mayo Clinic, distraction is one of the most effective immediate strategies to stop a tantrum because toddlers have short attention spans and can be redirected quickly.

Meanwhile, reacting to the trend, @flowerspeacelove joked, "I am wondering if this will work on my husband when he disagrees with me." Similarly, @user78230038250094 said, "It works for my golden retriever too." @girl17763 wrote, "Jessica has single-handedly stopped unnecessary crying."

You can follow Haley Danielle (@haleydanielle081006), Emily Whaley (@emily_whaley02), and Tierney Ashford (@tierneysennet) on TikTok for more parenting content. 

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