Mother divides opinion after letting her toddler draw on floor because it heals her ‘inner child’

Mother says she’s letting her daughter express her creativity, but some parents don’t like the mess

A mother has shared that she allows her toddler to draw all over the floor for one specific reason, but some parents are as convinced.

In a viral TikTok video, Arizona mother Kira showed what was leftover after allowing her two-year-old daughter drawing on the kitchen floor of their rental home. The wooden floors were covered in red, blue, and brown crayon markings. “Healing my inner child is letting my two-year-old colour on the kitchen floor while I’m cooking,” Kira wrote over the TikTok video.

“She asked me first and I said yes. She tried to ask if she could colour on the cabinet and I said no and she listened. She knows this is only allowed right here. But she had the most fun and it can all be cleaned,” the mother added.

The 29-year-old mother captioned the viral TikTok video: “Trying to give her the happiest childhood”.

Since it was posted last November, Kira’s clip has been viewed more than 322k times. In the comments section, fellow parents were divided on Kira’s parenting technique. While some people praised her for letting her daughter express her creativity, others believed there was a way to do so without being so messy.

“It’s not healing anything other than letting your kid boss you around,” one person commented.

“This is NOT healthy. Boundaries and respect for your environment are,” another critic wrote.

“Absolutely NOT,” a third person said, while someone else commented: “That’s always a no from me. You can colour on paper and we’ll even hang it up but she’s going to assume colouring on the floor is okay everywhere.”

In response, Kira clarified that she allows her daughter to draw on the floor because she “would’ve been screamed at” if she did the same at her age. “Kids weren’t allowed to make messes,” the mom said. Kira also emphasised that her daughter has “never once” tried to draw on other people’s floors “and she always asks permission at home before she does this.”

“She has boundaries. She knows she’s only allowed to do it right here and she has to clean up afterwards,” the TikToker added.

Despite some negative comments, several users defended Kira by sharing how they too weren’t given the opportunity to be creative growing up. “Giving my kids a safe space to be themselves is the best thing I can give to my inner child,” one parent said, to which Kira replied: “Exactly! She knows the boundaries and she feels safe to express herself.”

“You’re a great mother, keep creating core memories,” another user said.

Meanwhile, many parents suggested buying a peel-and-stick chalkboard or wallpaper, so it will peel off without damaging the wall of Kira’s rental home. In a follow-up post, she shared footage of her clean wooden floor with no crayon markings in sight.

“For everyone panicking with my last post, floor is all clean and it took a full one minute to mop,” Kira said in the clip. “Oh yeah, and my two-year-old is the one who cleaned it.”

Speaking to The Independent, the TikToker explained that letting her daughter draw on the floor allows her to experience certain freedoms that she wished she had as a child. “When I was growing up, I had a parent that would say no to everything and would get mad if we wanted to do anything, really, that wasn’t exactly how they wanted,” Kira said.

“I thought it was a cute moment that my daughter just wanted to hang out with me and draw on the floor while I was cooking dinner. It made me feel good that I could provide a safe space for her when that’s not something I always got growing up.”

For Kira, healing her “inner child” involves giving her toddler a safe space where she can explore herself. “I think it’s creating an environment where she’s not scared to be herself or push boundaries and try new things,” the mother of one said. “Then I participate with her and it makes me feel like, ‘Okay, I’m in a safe space now too.’

“I feel like I’m getting a part of my childhood that I didn’t get all the time,” she added.

Still, Kira was “a little” surprised by the handful of negative comments she received from users, who claimed that her parenting technique was too messy. She explained that her daughter had asked permission to draw on the floor, and when she was finished Kira had taught her how to clean up afterwards.

“I was kind of shocked that people were getting so worked up about it, like I destroyed the floor or I’m teaching her to vandalise. She’s never tried it anywhere else other than this house,” Kira clarified.

Despite the criticism, she believes that TikTok users responded “out of fear” to her video, because they may not understand how some people parent differently than others. “Everyone parents differently, even if it’s a little weird to you,” Kira said. “I think people get so judgemental, especially on social media.”

Nevertheless, Kira urged fellow parents to “have an open mind” when it comes to new or different parenting techniques.

“It doesn’t have to be the same way for everyone, and she doesn’t have to grow up the same way that you grew up. I think that’s important, to break that generational trauma that a lot of people have, by changing how you raise your kid,” Kira said. “If you didn’t like the way you were raised, you can change it.”