TikTok’s ‘Cookie Challenge’: A Family Test of Empathy, Instinct, and Ethics

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Across the nation, parents are testing their kids’ kindness, compassion, and moral values via the popular TikTok “cookie challenge.”

The challenge results in one parent being left without support.
a cookie
to observe how children react.

Certain toddlers joyfully share a cookie with their mother or father — whereas others may break down crying, rapidly devour their sole treat, or perhaps propose that their parents purchase additional cookies.


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“Haylee Jandreau from Portland, Maine, mentioned to Fox News Digital that she noticed numerous variations of the cookie challenge circulating and wondered how her daughter might react,” said Haylee Jandreau fromPortland, Maine, toFoxNewsDigital.

She is highly sensitive and extraordinarily empathetic, deeply attuned to emotions. Given how easily she becomes tearful over the extinction of dinosaurs, I assumed she would immediately confide in me about this.


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Jandreau and her spouse, Jacob, opted to attempt the challenge with their 4-year-old daughter, Maven.

(Refer to the video right above.)

When the child noticed that her mother was the sole person without a cookie, she hesitated to think about this situation before taking a bite and proposing that they should get one for Jandreau from “Target.”

“She is wise beyond her four years and highly motivated by
sugary treats
Jandreau stated, “Therefore, I ought to have anticipated that she would devise a thorough strategy ensuring my happiness and enjoyment of a cookie without sacrificing herself. Her thoughts are constantly spinning—and this situation was no different.”

A mother named Hannah Cook from Nashville, Tennessee, filmed her son Judah’s heartfelt response after not receiving a cookie. He cried for roughly two seconds before giving his mom a cookie.


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Truly an empathetic soul,” she wrote as the caption for the video. “I love him immensely.

Her video garnered over 90 million views.

(Refer to the video at the beginning of this article.)

Cook revealed to Fox News Digital, ‘We were completely unaware of how he would react.’ They genuinely didn’t anticipate what ultimately transpired. There was a hint that he might share since promoting openness is something they value in their household.’

However, can the cookie challenge be considered an indicator of a child’s ability to empathize?

In brief, the response is negative, as stated by Mary Margaret Fair, a licensed clinical social worker based in Dallas.

Empathy is a sophisticated feeling that involves both cognitive abilities and emotional intelligence, which evolve over time during childhood,” Fair stated. “The science does not support this challenge. Therefore, we cannot determine whether it actually measures empathy or if it’s assessing some other trait instead.


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As Fair pointed out, basic empathy begins to emerge in children between the ages of 2 and 4. She also mentioned that generosity or selfishness doesn’t always factor into this development.

She believes these actions are more of a learned behavior instead of true empathy, which is an emotion,” she explained. “However, there might not be a particular age at which this emerges; nonetheless, it’s probably something that would be acquired in a formal educational setting from either peers or instructors.

Many other elements could influence a child’s choice to share.

“As I interact with many families, they come from various socioeconomic statuses,” Fair stated.

Given this experience, numerous elements might influence whether a child chooses to participate in such challenges. These elements can range from food security and their present mood to the time of day, as well as their relationship with their parents or potential cognitive or developmental constraints.



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Anyone who examines the cookie challenge can only determine if a child is ready to share a cookie at that particular time, according to Fair.

Nothing more, from my viewpoint anyway,” Fair stated. “The cookie challenge is simply a enjoyable and carefree way to spend time.
your family
.”

Cook agreed.

As she put it, ‘Every child is unique, and each stage of development brings something different.’

Since Judah is just 2 years old, our expectations for him at this stage aren’t very high. However, it’s clear that the values we’re teaching and embedding in him are having an effect.

Original article source:
Viral TikTok’s ‘cookie challenge’ examines familial empathy, instincts, and morals