upworthy
Pop Culture

'Mama Tot' makes it her mission to bring love and compassion to the internet and it's so wholesome

Even in the midst of her own tragedy she keeps bringing light.

Mama Tot; TikTok; Ophelia Nichols
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Mama Tot brings love and compassion to the internet.

Sometimes when you're having a bad day it helps to have a warm voice telling you that everything will be OK.

Millions of people have been getting little pep talks from a maternal voice on TikTok, Ophelia Nichols, better known as "Mama Tot." Nichols has been bringing sunshine to people's algorithm for a while now with her signature greeting, "Hey, my little tater tots." The mom of four adult children has built her platform on kindness and compassion. Anytime social media users see Nichols' face pop up on their screen, they know they're in for a dose of sweetness.

Some people have been so taken aback by the Alabama woman's sweet nature that they have asked her if she was just pretending to be that nice. Mama Tot isn't a stranger to those sorts of questions and always responds with her signature brand of kindness, explaining about her difficult upbringing and desire to just be a good human.

Recently, Nichols' "tater tots" rallied around her after the news of her youngest child being tragically murdered. In a truly admirable video, Mama Tot called for compassion toward the other family involved, though she was hurting.

When someone is in need, Nichols does her best to help however she can and her followers come along for the ride, gleaning their own message from her words.

When a young mom was struggling with feeling like she just couldn't get things together, Nichols sent her a message via video saying, "What we're supposed to do is raise our babies and our children the best way we know how." She continued, "If you're giving your babies all of you and the best of you, then your best will always be good enough for them."

The message was so encouraging that the mom she made the video for commented, "Thank you Mama Tot, everything I needed to hear 💗 such big shoes to fill, I want to be everything she deserves."

@shoelover99

#stitch with @Leah Rae

These messages from Mama Tot aren't always specifically to any one person, but they're certainly helpful to many people that come across her page. The southern mom has amassed more than 9 million followers and more than 279 million likes, all due to her bubbly personality and ability to know just what people need to hear.

The internet can be a cruel place, but Nichols has made her mark by remaining kind and giving sage advice, including explaining financial abuse to her followers and how to stash away money to escape a financially abusive relationship. While Nichols is kind, she does not put up with bullies. Her "tater tots" can learn from her ability to set boundaries, take accountability for missteps and remain kind while doing so.

Nichols' comments section is always filled with people expressing their gratitude for her encouraging words and the light she brings to their day. On one of Nichols' videos checking in on her followers, a commenter, Jess, wrote, "a bright spot in a dark day🥰bless you mama tot." While another commenter, Hannah Perry, on the same video said, "You give me so much hope in the world of darkness."

If you happen to stumble across one of Mama Tot's videos, check out her page for a while, you'll be glad you did.

From Your Site Articles
mama tot
Internet

Gen X has been designated the 'worst grandparents.' Sadly, their explanation makes sense.

The latch-key generation doesn't hate their family, they're burnt out.

Photo credit: Canva

Gen X designated the 'worst grandparents' by Millennials

Generation X, typically the children of Baby Boomers born between the years of 1965-1980 tend to have a complicated reputation depending on who you ask. Some view them as a feral generation never to be spoken of poorly without consequence, while others view them as innovators pushing us into the future. But in recent years, Gen Xers have been dubbed the "worst grandparents" by social media users.

This multi-year conversation started when a video went viral calling Gen X out for being "terrible" grandparents, claiming that they never want to help with grandchildren. It didn't take long before other Millennials piled on to air their own grievances about Gen X grandparents. Most people criticizing the "new grandparents" were genuinely perplexed as to how they did not want to be more involved in the lives of their grandchildren.

Gen X; Gen X grandparents; absent grandparents; Gen X worst grandparents; Millennials; worst grandparents; Gen ZFamily baking fun in the kitchen.Photo credit: Canva

Kylie Muse reveals in a video that she felt neglected by her Gen X parents growing up, saying, "It's quite a common theme for Gen X parents to be neglectful in some capacity and it's just crazy to me how more of them haven't learned from the past 20 to 30 years, instead of these grandparents seeing their kids having kids as an opportunity to restore the health in their relationships with their kids by showing up and helping them during the hardest transition of their lives, they would rather double down and compromise their relationship with that next generation. All for the sake of hyper-individualism and pride."

@kylies.muse Gen x grandparents and their beloved empty nest 🥴 just say you hate having a family 😭 #grandparents #grandparentsoftiktok ♬ original sound - Kylie ꩜

The critique coming from the younger generation is not lost on Gen X, and they started coming out in force to respond with such vigor you'd think John Hughes had just announced the re-release of The Breakfast Club. It would seem that some of the people complaining of the lack of involvement have not considered that Gen X could have valid reasons for not immediately jumping in to take on grandparenting in the way some expect. A man by the name of John S. Blake gives a candid look into why Gen X was neglected as children and, in turn, became hype-independent at an early age.

"As a Gen X who's been on this earth long enough to have some hindsight I can tell you this, being independent at a young age is not a flex, what it actually means is capitalism is so brutal that our parents were forced to neglect their own children to stay alive. My generation was struggling so much that we had to leave our children unattended in order to produce enough so that we could afford to exist," Blake says.

@blackfluidpoet Replying to @ellens0061 #foryoupage #homealone #fyp #foryou ♬ Slippin' - Re-Recorded - DMX

But perhaps one of the most heart wrenching explanations comes from an elder Millennial who goes by the name Amazing Dea. In response to another Millennial who asks about Gen X being let off the hook, Dea shares, "Being as though you look like you might be a younger Millennial, let me go ahead and enlighten you. Generation X and older Millennials had to live through more than just this pandemic. We had the crack epidemic, we had the AIDS epidemic and let me tell you something, it was scary as f***."

Dea went on to explain that there were apartment complexes burned due to high populations of people with AIDS living in them and how they would witness people go from being completely normal to being addicted to crack in a matter of weeks. It seems that depending on socioeconomic status, Gen Xers lived wildly different lives with the common theme being growing up entirely too fast at an extremely young age.

Gen X; Gen X grandparents; absent grandparents; Gen X worst grandparents; Millennials; worst grandparents; Gen ZThree generations smiling by the sea.Photo credit: Canva

Another person kindly breaks down the confusion over why Gen X isn't rising to the occasion of being award-winning grandparents. In response to the criticism she replies, "We grew up in a different time, first of all. A lot of us, meaning me, Gen X, I was raised by boomers. A lot of us did not get raised by our grandparents. We were like the feral kids, like by 7 and 9 years old we were actually babysitting our brothers and sisters, alright."

The woman explains further in the video that Gen X doesn't want to raise their grandchildren or simply be babysitters, that there's a difference between expecting grandparents to be involved and expecting them to be babysitters.

@that1crazy72 Let’s take it a step further. You share DNA with your grandkids they are part of you not everyone gets the privilege of being a grandparent so if you are one take that as a blessing #genxgrandparents ♬ original sound - That1crazy72

In many of the response videos shared by Gen Xers, they certainly seem to love their grandchildren and children alike, but there's a discrepancy in expectation. The consensus of the forgotten generation seems to be that they had adult responsibilities much too early, were exposed to adult life experiences at a young age, and were often left to their own devices for long periods of time while also being told that their voices didn't matter.

While the argument seems to be around their lack of involvement as grandparents, they appear to be saying that they want to enjoy the freedom they didn't have as children, while being valued as a person and not a babysitter. In many follow up videos, Gen Xers gushed over their grandchildren and how they loved when they were around. It's just that they draw the line at raising them. Maybe for some, their experiences with their own childhood isn't enough to move Gen X out of the "worst grandparents" category, but for others it provides much needed context.

From Your Site Articles
gen x worst grandparents
Family

Divorced couple's unconventional co-parenting solution hailed as 'selfless'

"Working through an amicable divorce means thinking outside the box."

Photo credit: Canva

Birdnesting is a way for couples to go their separate ways without as much disruption.

For parents going through divorce, the number one challenge is often figuring out how to not disrupt life for the kids. More and more coparenting couples are discovering that making children bounce back and forth between different living arrangements doesn’t have to be the path taken if it doesn’t actually work for the family. In fact, there are many different ways to go about it.

For Susan Fowler and her ex-husband Josh Fowler, losing their family home (and the consistency provided for their five kids) didn’t feel like an option. So, in an effort to “think outside the box,” they decided to keep the home, and simply take turns living in it.

“It was scary at first, figuring out the logistics, each finding a room to rent,” Susan explained in a TikTok clip, “But it was also way cheaper than two houses big enough for 6 people.”

@sparklysusan Working through an amicable divorce means we get to think outside the box. What really works best for our family? We realized keeping the kids in their same home is a top priority. Also, it means that we both get to keep living here part time as well, and we don’t have to lose out on all the love and effort we’ve put into this family home.
♬ Walking Around - Instrumental Version - Eldar Kedem

Rather than upsetting all five of her kids and making them go through the stress of having to pack up and go to another home every couple of days or weeks, there’s only one person who ends up leaving. And for that ease alone, Susan is "grateful" every time she hauls her bags to the car to head to the room she rents from a friend.

Plus, she writes, “we don’t have to lose out on all the love and effort we’ve put into this family home.”

Susan’s video has racked up nearly six million views, and the idea has received a ton of praise for being such a win-win—from fellow parents and former kids of divorce alike.

“This shows the level of maturity between the two parties.”

“This should be a law! Kids didn’t ask to be brought into this world. “This is exactly what should be done. Keeping kids grounded is everything!”

“I lived out of a suitcase for years because I was switching houses every week. Everything in life felt temporary. Thank you for doing this.”

“This is the most selfless way to share custody. A friend who I grew up with had 50/50 parents, said he had 2 houses and no home.

“Amazing co-parenting!! Putting the kids first!!”

“As a kid that had to take 6-hour road trips between houses, thank you for putting their comfort first.”

@sparklysusan Replying to @Emu Thompson ♬ original sound - sparklysusan


This strategy, while unconventional, is not the first of its kind, and it’s gaining traction. Many parents have found that “birdnesting” divorces, as they are commonly called, are not only practical, but protective of children’s well-being. The idea is that, like in the animal kingdom, little ones still get to have the security of a “nest” while parents take turns taking care of them.

It isn’t a fool proof plan, of course. There’s still a shifting family dynamic, which can be confusing. A ton of communication is also still required to figure out balancing responsibilities, boundaries, schedules, etc. Plus, not everyone can necessarily keep up with the financial demand of two homes.

But if both parties are aware of those factors and can work together to address them head on, the stability is likely well worth it.

As for Susan and Jason, working together doesn’t seem to be an issue. On her TikTok, she goes into detail about how they continue to meet once a week to “workout admin things for the family.” Through those meetings, they came up with a schedule where Susan lives in the family home on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Josh resides there on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Then they each alternate staying in the home from Friday to Sunday. Each of them has to arrive at the house by 10am, which is after the kids leave for school, meaning which parent stayed the night at the house also is in charge of mornings.

@sparklysusan Replying to @Samantha ♬ original sound - sparklysusan

It’s clear that they each have the same top priority: their kiddos. And it’s lovely to see parents who can keep that in mind while going their separate ways. It’s not easy, but sometimes it doesn’t have to be as hard as we think.

From Your Site Articles
coparenting
Planet

Heartbroken weatherman stops mid-report to explain on live TV why he 'can't' forecast anymore

"We may be flying blind" from now on.

NBC6 & Canva Photos

John Morales stopped his report to educate viewers on what budget cuts really mean.

I hardly ever watch the news on television, especially not for the weather. It's just so much easier to pick up my phone and check Google or The Weather Channel. I just want to know how warm it's going to be or how likely it is to rain. These days, I can find that out in about 10 seconds and go about my day.

But when there's potential danger—hurricanes, storms that might knock out the power of topple over trees, tornado warnings, or threats of ice and snow—my trusty local meteorologist or weatherman is always there. All of that said, I've never once considered that I might not be able to get my weather forecast from either source, at least not accurately. It's 2025—our weather modeling should be better than ever, state of the art, right?

John Morales, a meteorologist and hurricane specialist with NBC6 in South Florida, was reporting on an upcoming storm when he suddenly shifted gears, right in the middle of the broadcast.

weatherman, weather, meteorologist, news, tv news, news anchor, viral videos, trump, doge, governmentWithout good data, we can't accurately predict the paths of hurricanes. Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Morales explains that in his 34 years of presenting the weather, he's always been able to confidently tell his viewers when a hurricane might hit, or when it might turn away. He's always been able to stand behind his data, modeling, and forecast in order to help protect the people of South Florida.

"I am here to tell you that I am not sure I can do that this year."

Why? "Because of the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general."

Babbel, language, learning language, deals, salesA person uses the Babbel appBabbel

Babbel’s Biggest Sale of the Year: Get 67% off. Lifetime Subscriptions For $199

Morales then pulled up a graphic instead of his usual weather map. It laid out some stark realities about severe understaffing of the National Weather Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Between brutal layoffs, employees accepting the recent DOGE buyout, and straight-up resignations, the agencies responsible for collecting weather data have lost hundreds and hundreds of valuable experts.

He also explained that due to federal government budget cuts, there's been a sizeable decrease in weather balloon launches across the country. Weather balloons are instruments that take crucial measurements of the upper atmosphere and send data that helps with forecasting. With less data available, and lower quality data, Morales say that "the quality of forecasts is becoming degraded."

That's a pretty scary thought, especially in a place like South Florida. What do you do when your local meteorologist can't predict what a powerful hurricane will do next?

"This is a multi-generational impact on science in this country," Morales warns.

Watch his passionate plea here:

Almost nine million people viewed the powerful clip on X. It was reshared over 26,000 times. Morales' message is definitely getting the attention it deserves.

It's not just the National Weather Service that's bleeding. In the name of efficiency, The White House has slashed budgets at the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and more. Trimming the federal budget sounds well and good until you realize that we won't be making any major cancer breakthroughs any time soon without funding the research. And we won't be able to protect people from hurricanes and tornadoes without complete weather data.

(And yes, even the Weather app on your iPhone needs a database to pull from.)

Meanwhile, we're spending $1 trillion—yes, trillion— per year on our military. This is the anti-science, anti-expert sentiment Morales is talking about. It's been building for years and is just now coming to a head in the worst way.

We still need meteorologists and weather experts like Morales. We still need scientists.

weatherman, weather, meteorologist, news, tv news, news anchor, viral videos, trump, doge, governmentWe still need human scientists and experts that can compile and read maps like this one. Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

ChatGPT can pull weather data from Google and tell you if there's going to be a thunderstorm, but can it tell you when the data behind that forecast is incomplete or unreliable? That's the reality we're facing right now, and we might not know the forecast isn't reliable until it's too late in some cases.

TV weathermen who live in our communities and can put crucial context behind the weather and help keep us safe still matter. Not only that, but they are ambassadors for science, and they still have a big platform in many communities around the country. Morales is making sure he makes the most of his.

From Your Site Articles
weather
Kids

Toddler who can barely talk drums and sings 'Pocketful of Sunshine' with stunning precision

People are calling him a musical prodigy.

Representative photo credit: Canva

Toddlers drumming are cute. Toddlers who can actually play drums are something else.

Most people can learn most things if they really put their minds to it, but there's no question some humans are born with innate abilities that defy expectations and explanation. We call those people prodigies, and while toddlerhood might be too early to definitively use that label, a tiny tot with a stick, a shovel, and a song in his heart has people tossing around the term. When you see the video of little Remi performing Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine," you'll see why.

Toddlers often "sing" along to songs, but rarely do they sing with anything close to perfect pitch and even more rarely do they keep perfect time. Not only does Remi do both, but he keeps separate rhythms with each hand—plastic sandbox shovel in one, stick in the other—all while singing gibberish lyrics to the identifiable tune.

Watch:

Not a discernible word uttered, yet so very impressive. People had thoughts:

"He’s singing in Simlish lmao so cute 😭 also more talent than me"

"The gibberish in perfect melody is killing meeee I love smart babies 😭"

"Mee me may mayyyyy!"

"Forget about the singing, he’s playing two different rhythms with each hand. Mind blown seriously."

"Holding down a beat and singing at that age is insane!!!!!"

"I am literally astonished. memorizing melody, singing it back with the correct notes on key?! While drumming??? Literal prodigy in the making."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

"When they say some people are just born with it- this is what that looks like. Absolutely amazing."

"Can’t poop in the potty but can perfectly replicate a song 😭"

"It’s actually so hard to sing and drum."

"I think he's a prodigy. Very impressive!"

Even trained musicians weighed in on this little pocketful of sunshine's talents.

"I am a highly trained musician. He is…a natural percussionist. He also sings incredibly well for his age. This kid has music pouring out of him. He can pattern phrases and complicated rhythms."

drumming, drummer, drumsDrumming takes special skill.Giphy GIF by Italia's Got Talent

"I’ve been drumming for 26 years. Dude is a natural and has exquisite dynamic control. And he can sing on top? Brilliant! ✨"

"Vocal coach here—he can even hear vocal dynamics (the volume increases and decreases in his singing) and is able to actively apply them WHILE keeping a complicated rhythm for his age...you guys might have a prodigy. Mozart at 7 years old left Handel's messiah and was able to rewrite it all FROM MEMORY. your son is remembering the beat, Melody and dynamics...you guys might want to get him a coach!!"

"I'm a music teacher, and his natural ability to figure out the beat and keep it, is something I struggle teaching kids who have been playing for years. little prodigy in the making friends, get him into lessons!!"

Many people suggested getting him a drum set and a coach. The drum set is already taken care of—Santa brought him one for Christmas—and he plays it a lot.

@remiandhismama

late night jam sesh before bedtime 🤘🏼 🥁 🎶 #toddlerdrummer #toddlersings #musicaltoddler #heartwarrior #chdawareness #drummer #chdwarrior #proudmama #musickid #toddlermom #heartmom


Remi's mom Jessica writes in a comment that Remi started showing signs that he loved drumming and was able to carry a beat at around age 2 1/2. (In the drumset video above, he's 3 years and 4 months.)

Jessica also shares that Remi has a special affinity for Elvis Presley. He even told her, "Mama, Remi the real Elvis!" He may very well be.

@remiandhismama

Replying to @Jessica Steinert @Elvis Official has gotten this boy through major things in his life, like his open heart surgery. He literally calls himself Elvis ⚡️❤️‍🩹 #toddlerdrummer #toddlersings #musicaltoddler #heartwarrior #chdawareness #toddlermom #fyp #foryoupage #musickid #proudmom #elvispresley

Musical prodigies usually arise from some combination of nature and nurture, possessing an inherent musical capacity and being raised in an environment that feeds that ability. Some have tried to argue that anyone can become a "prodigy" with enough early exposure and systematic practice, but that doesn't really explain kids like Remi. You can't teach the average two or three-year-old to drum with both hands playing different beats while keeping steady time, and while singing in tune with inflections—at least not without a ton of work. When an ability appears without much effort, that sure seems to be an indicator of innate talent. Any talent has to be nurtured and practice is necessary, of course, but there are lots of kids who start music lessons and practice at a young age who don't become Mozarts by age seven.

One 2020 study found that what differentiated musical prodigies from other young musicians was a propensity to report "flow" during practice, the intensity of their practice before adolescence, and the source of their motivation when they began to play. Perhaps it's just a matter of all the elements coming together—innate capacity, internal motivation, intense practice, and some intangible thing that makes the musical magic happen.

Wherever musical prodigy comes from, it's sure fun to see it emerging in such a tiny little human. Can't wait to see what Remi's future holds.

You can follow Remi's musical adventures on TikTok.

From Your Site Articles
music
Joy

An elephant broke into a store in Thailand to steal snacks and the reactions are priceless

"Let's ignore it." "What?" "The elephant in the room."

Photo credit: Canva

An elephant broke into a store to steal snacks, yet no one's talking about it.

Even elephants get a little snack-ish from time to time. Typically when an Asian elephant is feeling peckish they eat what's around them, grass, roots, leaves, maybe some fruit if they have access to it. But not every elephant is satisfied with what's easily accessible, they'd much rather have something tastier than a nice helping of grass.

Convenience store workers in a town located near a national park in central Thailand got a surprise visit by the self-appointed local snack inspector. An elephant, known to the town as Plai Biang Leck decided it was going to take a stroll to the local store to get something a little tastier than roots. Pretty sure he's heard about humans working hard to avoid discussing the elephant in the room so he decided to test his luck.

Elephant enters a grocery store in Thailand for snacks
byu/Flamactor inpics

It sounds like the start of a bad joke: "An elephant walks into a store...", except there's no cringy punchline. An elephant really did walk into a store in Thailand and surprisingly didn't knock everything over. He even used his trunk to do a little grocery shopping while the store clerks tried to shoo the giant creature out. You may be wondering how this real life Babar even managed to fit through the door of a convenience store, but it appears the store has a roll up wall, leaving the entire front of the store exposed to the outside world.

I wonder how long the elephant was planning this trip to the store? Obviously, he didn't have money to purchase his goodies but that didn't slow him down. He walked away with "nine bags of sweet rice crackers, a sandwich and bananas" according to the caption on the video. Do elephants have social media? If they do, I bet his followers are going to go wild on TikTusk over this exotic grocery haul. As for the tab the big eared fella racked up...? Well, elephants never forget so surely he'll be back to pay for his snacks (right after he figures out what money is).

Thai elephant breaks into local grocery store to steal rice crackers and a banana
byu/doughb0ii inDamnthatsinteresting

People couldn't get enough of the elephant's shopping spree that only ended when the store clerks forced him to leave. Of course, the responses were full of punny jokes people couldn't resist, with one being an amusing exchange, "Let's ignore it..." one person writes, "Ignore what?" someone replies, "The elephant in the room." To this, another person keeps the joke going with, "What elephant?" And just when you thought the banter was over, someone calls it all out saying, "I'm getting tired of these people who only want to talk about imaginary elephants all the time. EDS sufferers - Elephant Derangement Syndrome."

One person imagines the elephant's side of the conversation: "'Um, hello? Good morning? I’m looking for Extra Cheesy Cheez-Its…am I in the wrong aisle?'"

elephant; Thailand; elephant goes shopping; elephant in store; elephant in the room; funny storiesElephant enjoying a sandwich picnic in the wild.Photo credit: Canva

This person has a legitimate concern, saying, "Imagine covering a shift for someone and an elephant comes in the store that morning." How would one explain that without sounding like you've completely rounded the bend? It's definitely a situation where you'd need photo evidence for even the smallest shred of credibility.

One person claims to be the elephant's attorney, joking, "I’m the elephants lawyer: you’re all reminded that these statements are merely accusations and my client is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law."

"Wait until you see next door, they've got a bull in a China shop," someone else jokes. And the commenters keep the puns rolling. One quips, "Well you know how to stop an elephant from charging ....TAKE AWAY HIS CREDIT CARD" while another says, "He hates paying for grocery bags at the register, he brings his own trunk."


From Your Site Articles
elephant in store
Trending Stories
OSZAR »