A dad was tired of yelling for his daughter. His hilarious new parenting hack is pure genius.

Every parent knows the struggle of yelling up the stairs for their kids to come down for dinner. But one dad found a solution that replaces the yelling with pure, unadulterated joy. In a viral TikTok video posted in January 2025 by his wife, Tasha (@tashachantal), he shows off his genius parenting hack.

The video, captioned “How my husband calls our daughter downstairs,” starts with the dad standing giddily in front of the TV. He presses play, and the iconic opening notes of Barbra Streisand's "Don't Rain on My Parade" blast through the house.

The camera pans to the staircase, and a moment later, their daughter appears at the top. Dressed in a beautiful white ballgown, she channels her inner diva and makes a grand, theatrical entrance, sashaying down the stairs and giving the family a series of delighted twirls at the bottom. The whole family watches, celebrating her performance.

The video is a perfect example of what experts call "playful parenting"—the idea of injecting joy and spontaneity into everyday routines. On a Reddit thread in r/Parenting, user @Lerk409 described a similar approach:

“Turn those chores into games with your kids. For instance, when we clean the toy room up, we blast loud music and do a clean-up dance party... I’m constantly joking around and making up games and contests with my kids. I love playing with them.”

A father and young daughter play together at the beachCanva

This method doesn't just make parenting more fun; it can also lead to better-behaved and more cooperative children. In a guide for NPR, Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff, author of Hunt, Gather, Parent, notes that many traditional Western parenting practices can be exhausting and "backfire." By contrast, a playful approach can transform mundane tasks into moments of connection and joy.

A father and daughter play around next to a pierCanva

This family's simple ritual does exactly that. Instead of a frustrating chore, coming downstairs becomes a celebrated performance. It's a beautiful reminder that sometimes the best parenting hacks aren't about discipline or efficiency, but about finding a little bit of magic in the everyday.

This article originally appeared earlier this year.