A mom in upstate New York turned an ordinary morning into an internet sensation after she decided to do a squat every single time her four-year-old daughter said the word “Mom.”
Jess Sharp, 34, swapped her usual morning walk for the impromptu workout and filmed the results for TikTok. Her daughter Amelia, apparently unaware she was serving as a personal trainer, delivered a relentless stream of “Mom” calls — at one point hitting a four-in-a-row streak: “So what are you making, Mommy? So what are you making, Mommy? So what are you making, Mommy? So what are you making, Mommy?”
By the end, Sharp had logged more than 200 squats.
“I actually did expect the number to be pretty high because I already know how often I hear ‘Mom’ in a day,” Sharp told The Post. “But I don’t think I really thought about what 200-plus would feel like when every single one meant doing a squat. Seeing the number and actually having to squat that many times are two VERY different things.”
The video struck a nerve with other parents. “You’ll be skinny af by 6pm,” one commenter wrote. Another predicted Sharp would be “quadzilla by the end of the week.” One mother of six admitted she’d sit this one out: “My legs would fall off end of the day.”
The soreness stuck around for two days. “I was so sore I could barely go up and down the stairs!” Sharp said.
Sharp told The Post she’s heard from plenty of other mothers who want to try the challenge themselves, or who tagged friends to give it a shot.
A Bigger Pattern Among Parents
Sharp’s experience touches on a broader issue for parents of young children. A 2022 study found that fewer than half of mothers with young kids meet recommended general exercise guidelines, averaging just 18 to 19 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a day.
Sharp hasn’t repeated the exact squat challenge, but it pushed her toward similar quick-hit workouts, including a burpee-based version tied to another common phrase kids repeat. She describes these bursts as a fast, flexible way to squeeze in exercise around the chaos of raising small children.
“I think the funniest part is that 200+ times wasn’t even a full day,” Sharp said. “I think that’s why the video was so relatable — every parent knows how many times you hear ‘Mom’ in a day, but you don’t really realize HOW many until you start counting.”
Sharp also found a financial angle: she had her husband pay a dollar for every time he said “Mom” in a day. The tally hit 405.
“That one ended at 405 ‘Moms,’ so apparently I should’ve just started charging him sooner,” she said.
