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By Daniella Gray
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A mom's unorthodox tactic to stop her daughter from taking out her pigtails has gone viral on TikTok.
Shaylee Gardener, 25, posted the clip of her toddler, Indy, settling in with a smile wearing what she has dubbed a 'cone of shame' in an attempt to stop her from taking her hair out in the car. A cone of shame, usually reserved for pets, specifically dogs, is to prevent them from licking or biting wounds.
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"Anything longer than a five-minute drive, I can count on her taking her cute hairstyle out," Gardener told Newsweek.
"This can be challenging when you're a mom who's rushing to get somewhere and then you open the car door to find your baby has taken her hair out and now it's a mess.
"Now you're scrambling to fix it back up before you head into whatever you're already late for."
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Gardener saw potential beyond the cone's conventional use and thought it might work for her daughter to leave her pigtails untouched and perfectly in place.
"I came up with this idea one day as I was like, ugh, she took her hair out again," Gardener, currently based in California, said.
"I told my husband I had a funny video idea: I'm going to buy a cone of shame and put it on my daughter so that she would stop taking out her hair," she said.
The clip is captioned: 'We give her plenty of snacks, don't worry!' Indy is seen drinking from her bottle and chomping on some Veggie Straws.
The video, which quickly went viral, has clocked up over 4.1 million views and counting since it was posted on July 2.
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Comments ranged from amused to appreciative, with one commenting that this was "parenting done right" and some even named the mom hack "genius".
One wrote that the cone served as a crumb catcher to keep the car clean, too: "Win win."
Some critics, however, were concerned about what would happen if they were to have an accident in the car or whether Indy's hair bands were too tight for her.
Gardener quickly addressed the comments and clapped back: "You can clearly see that the neck part is huge and bigger than her neck."
One TikTok user shared that they had also been a child who pulled out their hair when they were little. She said that her mom would always have to accompany her when it was picture day at school or she would end up looking "homeless."
When a child is young, it can be difficult for them to stop doing something because they simply don't understand.
As a result, some TikTok users suggested Gardener's contraption to Renèe Barendregt. She has been documenting her eye-patching journey with son, Ziggy, on TikTok, but her attempts still haven't prevented him from pulling off his eye patch.
Despite its name, it seems as though Indy doesn't feel any shame by wearing the cone and, in fact, looks delighted with her mom's resourcefulness.
One TikTok user commented, "She doesn't look ashamed at all," while another wrote: "The funniest part is she's beyond content in that thing."
"This whole thing was definitely satire," Gardener told Newsweek.
"My daughter does not actually wear a cone, but it was so funny in my opinion."
If you have a family dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
This article was updated on 16/07/24, 08:15 a.m. with comments from the original poster.
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