Parents can and will go to great lengths to get some shred of (quiet) privacy.
While the process of having a baby in Japan can be a luxurious experience compared to other nations, that can all go away once the tiny, needy human comes into this world. When Twitter user @sato_nezi‘s 1-year-old child loses sight of his mother, he starts crying uncontrollably. Realizing this was not a great situation for all parties (including the neighbors) involved, he and his wife decided to get creative.
Their solution: create a life-size cardboard cutout of Mom and try to trick their child into thinking Mom is there when she really isn’t.
▼ They created one of Mom standing up and one of her crouching, both with a charming and maternal smile.
うちの1歳児、お母さんが視界から消えるとすぐ泣いちゃうので、大変。
— 佐藤ねじ / ブルーパドル (@sato_nezi) December 8, 2019
その対策として「等身大パネルの母」を設置するとどうなるか実験してみた。
(つづく) pic.twitter.com/VOgy1619G0
Mom was able to disappear for a bit without her son losing his mind, especially considering the fact that they put her cardboard likeness in a place the baby couldn’t reach. They even took video proof of their son being totally fooled by the cutouts.
▼ “He didn’t notice for about 20 minutes. This could be a lifesaver…“
結果、20分くらい気づかれず。これはたまには役立つかも…
— 佐藤ねじ / ブルーパドル (@sato_nezi) December 8, 2019
このパネルは、ビッグダミー(スーパーとかにある巨大なパネル)など、販促物をつくってるリンクスさんにお願いして、「ビッグマミー」をつくってもらいました🙏https://t.co/zLfGDZpiPa pic.twitter.com/zp5qiyqoRq
The cutouts were made using a service called Links that creates displays for businesses and shops. They ordered a “Big Dummy” (which is normally used for cutouts in supermarkets and such) and have taken to calling it “Big Mommy.”
As you can see, the kid is happy as can be with his toys and show as long as he can glance behind him and see his beloved mother standing there (sort of). The Internet thought this family’s idea was as brilliant as we did:
“My nephew is 1-year-old and he flips out every time his parents disappear, too…”
“Someone make this available on the market!!”
“This! I would have loved this when I wanted to go to the toilet, or eat dinner, or wash my face! It looks funny, but I totally understand this reality!”
“This is genius! My 4-year-old still goes to the toilet with me.”
Being a parent isn’t easy, so any little bit of help counts, right? Take matters into your own hands and see if you can also steal a few precious moments of privacy with the help of cardboard.
If you’re not even at the “I have a kid” stage of life yet, there are other cardboard cutouts that could comfort you (in some ways) as well, like a cardboard waifu…
Sources: Twitter/@sato_nezi via My Game News Flash
Featured image: Twitter/@sato_nezi
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