YoutubeOne definition of insanity: Trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Another definition of insanity: Having to parent two children under the age of 5 at the same time.
Henriette Jonassen is a mother of twins in Norway. "I've been struggling with getting my twins asleep for a few weeks now (due to extremely hot weather and long, sunny days)," she explains in the video's description. "I've tried different methods. This one was definitely the worst one! But it gave me a good laugh."
What ensues is a maddening game of bedtime whack-a-mole, where as soon as one of the twins, named Leon and Nathaniel, is finally put down, the other pops right back up again.
Again and again and again.
And just when Henriette thinks she's finally getting a moment of peace, again.
Watch the very funny video—well, very funny if you don't have to go home tonight and try to put twins to bed. If you do, we are terribly sorry and we suggest you buy a bottle of wine after work—below:
Because this is the Internet and the Internet is a hateful monster that can't watch a simple viral video, smile, and move on with its day, there was backlash. On her blog, Henriette wrote:
I posted the video on my facebook wall, and it went viral in a really short time. That was not my purpose, but I thought it was quite funny actually, and people kept sharing it. Suddenly it had over 100 000 views, and it kept spreading.
Comments appeared frequently, and I tried to keep up. And the comments became mean, hurtful and disrespectful, and this is why I'm writing this post. When you call me a bad mom, tell me I never should have kids and encourage me to hit my kids, I can't just sit back and say nothing. I won't...
After they have taken a fairly long shower and brushed their teeth, I put them in their beds. They have always shared a room, the only exception was in the video – because I tried a new method, and it didn't work out. And yes, they do have blinds in their windows, even though it doesn't look like it in the youtube video. When the door is open, the wind blow the blinds away from the window, and let the sun into the room. When the door is closed, it's fairly dark in there.
After we have spoken a few minutes about how their day was, I tickle their backs and sing for them. I've tried to read books for them, but they aren't interested in listening to me reading, so I sing instead. I keep tickeling and singing until they are asleep, sometimes it's 5 minutes and other times it's an hour.