May we all have the confidence of this hilariously ‘feral’ toddler

While toddlers haven’t developed things like social awareness and filters quite yet, sometimes that can actually be to their advantage. Case in point: A hilarious viral video where one mom shares a story about her “unhinged” 2-year-old who is inspiring moms all over the internet to wish for this level of confidence.

“It paid off,” mom Emily Vondy says at the beginning of her video, where she recounts a story that happened when she was shopping with her 2-year-old daughter, Olive. “Having an unhinged, uncensored, feral 2-year-old has finally paid off and I couldn’t be more proud. Me and Olive were leaving the store earlier, and I was telling her, ‘You have to hold Mommy’s hand before we go into the parking lot,’ and asking Olive to hold my hand is on par with asking my sweetie if he needs directions—the answer’s no.” 

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A post shared by Emily Vondy (@emilyvondy)

Vondy continued, “There was an older gentleman. Bless his heart. I do think he meant well. Walking behind us, saw the interaction, thought it would be really silly, really goofy, to pretend to chase my 2-year-old and scare her into holding Mommy’s hand. ‘You better hold Mommy’s hand or I’m gonna get you!’ said the grown man stranger that she’s never seen before.”

Um, bless this man’s heart because who does that? He is as lacking in social skills as the 2-year-old, who is already forgiven for what’s about to happen.

Holding up her hand to the camera in a forceful “stop that” motion, Vondy continues, “She hit him with one of these.”

Barely able to contain her laughter at this point, she adds, “I get the ‘hold up’ hand from Olive like 50 times a day, but to do it to a complete stranger?!”

But to make things even better, Olive had more for that man. This toddler’s confidence truly knows no bounds.

“And then proceeded to blow the most intimidating, ferocious, ‘stay back’ raspberry,” Vondy says. “And for the grande finale—the pièce de resistance—she growled at him. She growled! It was so cool. It was so badass. She’s a legit honey badger.”

Let the record show that this is how I will be responding to any and all people who annoy me from now on.

“It took everything in me to not Minnesota-nice apologize for her display of boundary setting, but I’m still learning from my 2-year-old,” Vondy says at the end of her video, which is a very relatable sentiment. Because at the end of the day, we can all learn from Olive here. To have the confidence of a feral 2-year-old. What a gift.