The account began gaining momentum in 2020, and it became more apparent to Perry during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns that people needed the videos more than ever.
“With everybody just kind of trapped, some people unfortunately trapped with the wrong people, mental health wise and things like that, it was just a was a true blessing for us to come in and just give some people some laughs and some hope and to just spread the message about respect, communication and love,” he said.
As his follower and view count rose, so did the number of people commenting that the videos were helping them, whether they were parents or children.
For Perry, the comments on his videos were the first sign that he and his family were beginning to make a difference. While his videos still receive comments such as “I wish you were my dad,” the positive ones are what keeps them hopeful.
“Bro is single handily changing parenting for an entire generation,” one user commented on June 7.
“Thank you for the reminder.
Perry said some of his favorite comments are ones from parents who are working to become better versions of themselves for their children, like one June 4 user who commented, “I’ve watched you for a while & you’ve truly changed my perspective & parenting! thank you!”
He reads as many comments on the videos as possible, whether it’s positive feedback and negative parenting stories from viewers, he said.
“I listened and by listening I think we saw there was a huge need,” Perry said. “We heard stories, you know, in my DMs that I would get that were horrible from COVID, you know, parents [that] don’t know how to talk to their kids. They don’t know how to relate to them. They don’t know how to listen to them. And that became my thing, is I wanted to give the kids a voice.”
Giving the kids a voice did not come without backlash. Perry said he often is asked why he does not give parents a voice in his videos, and he answers people by telling them that parents always have a voice.
“My videos are strictly for motivating, encouraging parents, inspiring parents to do better because kids don’t get as much of a voice as adults do, so I want to be that voice for them,” Perry said.
One of the most rewarding parts of running the account is hearing from the people who have changed their parenting styles after watching the videos, he said.
Since beginning the TikTok account, Perry said the videos have also helped his family as he has improved his relationship with his children throughout the process.
“I inspire myself,” Perry said. “My videos are just as much to me as anybody.”
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A ‘true family business’
While all of the family is involved with the TikTok account, Perry said it is his children’s choice on whether or not they want to be creating content.
“It has turned into, everybody’s on payroll, and everybody has a say so in what we do, so nobody is forced to be in any videos whatsoever,” Perry said. “We don’t really put too much out there to make it perfect. It just is what it is. and we’ve kind of learned that those videos do the best that are just real.”
Despite the rise to TikTok fame, Perry said his family has been able to separate their social media presence from their home life. He and his wife have worked from home for the last decade, so nothing changed when the account blew up. The biggest changes have been positive, he said.
Despite the platform, the family’s message will stay the same
In the future, Perry said he and his family plan to continue to spread parenting positivity through TikTok. As some states are beginning to ban the app , Perry said his family will maintain their presence on other apps to inspire others.
When he thinks back to being on TikTok in 2019, Perry remembers acquaintances asking him what he was doing on a kid’s app. He said the ridicule he received at the time was worth it.
“They were late to the party and they wish they would have listened a little bit more back in the day instead of making fun of us and joking around,” Perry said. “But we knew we had a message to spread, and we knew we were making a difference, and as long as we were doing that, it didn’t matter what anybody else said.”
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Kate Perez covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@gannett.com or on Twitter @katecperez_.
