Hilarious Viral Video Shows Exactly Why Sleeping With a Toddler Sucks

For parents, the idea of getting a good night’s sleep can feel like one of life’s unattainable goals, as even the most “well-behaved” babies and toddlers seem to be gifted with the superpower of keeping their parents up at night. And this exasperating phenomenon was perfectly captured in an absolutely hilarious viral video of a toddler making their mom’s attempt at a quiet night of rest a total nightmare. Well, that’s not really true — a nightmare actually implies that she managed to get some sleep, which, as you can see from the video, she does not.

The video starts peacefully enough, with the mom getting half the bed to herself while the toddler flails around like an adorable maniac. However, things take a turn for the worst when the toddler heads straight for their mom’s head.

The poor mom tries to get just a little bit of space to herself but unfortunately, her head seems to function as a magnet, and her kid is a metaphorical piece of metal. No matter where she goes, the toddler inevitably follows and she ends up having to try and catch some shut-eye with another human literally sprawled over her face for nearly two minutes.

Through some herculean effort, she is able to gain some slight separation, only for her to become the recipient of several toddler-kicks to the head before her entire head is once again used as a mini mattress. After nearly 17 minutes of intense struggle, the two seem to reach a tacit understanding in the form of the toddler only using their mom’s neck as a pillow as opposed to their entire head. Because every mom and dad knows that parenting is ultimately about compromise and when it comes to sleep, even a miserable night’s sleep is better than no sleep at all.

The video clearly resonated with viewers, receiving over 91,000 upvotes on Reddit and more than 4,000 comments from parents offering their support and admiration for a mom just trying to get a little bit of rest. And quite frankly — it’s a fun watch for those of us who are no longer in the toddler years. Remember when?