This Dad’s Viral Song Is The Most Fun Way to Teach a Toddler About Money
The video teaches kids about the value of coins.
Have you been struggling to learn your kids about coins — and how much each coin costs? Fear not, because Emmanuel Okanlawon, a Maryland-based rapper, and TikToker, has come through with a bonkers easy hack to help your kid remember the values of pennies, dimes, and quarters. And unlike his previous hits like “Moana” or “Bonfire Pt. 2,” this song is 100% for kids.
Emmanuel Okanlawon is a Maryland-based rapper known professionally as YungManny. It’s an appropriate nickname, as he’s still a teenager, which partially explains why he’s so damn good at TikTok. The TikTok video, titled “My Son is 3 & A Genius, & Musically Inclined,” shows off Okanlawon’s showmanship, offbeat sense of humor, and natural braggadocio. But more than anything, it shows off what a great dad he is.
“How much is a penny?” YungManny sings, drawing out the last word.
“One cent!” his son chirps in, with gusto before the pattern repeats.
“OK, how much is a nickel?”
“Five cents!”
“OK, how much is a dime?”
“Ten cents!”
“OK, how much is a quarter?”
“Twenty-five cents!”
YungManny starts the song over again but goes from a penny to a quarter as “*tried to throw him off*” flashes on the screen. His son, however, is too clever and sings the correct amount again, a sign that he does know how much all of the coins are worth and isn’t just singing memorized lyrics.
The whole thing is damn adorable because YungManny’s son is adorable, but also because both are clearly having a great time recording the video, and he’s using a great method for teaching his kid important math. It’s currently racked up over 726,000 views on TikTok, way more than the 21,500 people following YungManny’s account.
This video is reminiscent of another viral TikTok, posted about a month and a half ago, that showed a guy teaching the whole world the simplest one-second viral shoe-tying hack that many parents likely adopted and showed to their own children, tired of crying over bunny ears and loop-throughs. Once again, the platform for teens has come through with another great parenting tip. Making lessons songs works!
