Kathryn Berkett: The 'Jessica' trend and why it works

Kathryn Berkett: The 'Jessica' trend and why it works

From The Parent Squad by Newstalk ZB

May 2, 2026 · 36 min

About this episode

Kathryn Berkett discusses the 'Jessica' trend in parenting and its effectiveness in managing children's tantrums.

There's a new trend sweeping through social media - when your child is lost in a tantrum or a pre-teen spiral, you call out for your imaginary helper named Jessica, and more often than not it will confuse them enough to stop them in their tracks.  Distraction methods like this one have been used for years and years, but why do they work?  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Guest: Kathryn Berkett

Topics covered

  • parenting
  • tantrums
  • distraction techniques
  • social media trends
  • child behavior

Keywords

  • Jessica trend
  • tantrum management
  • imaginary helper
  • parenting techniques
  • child psychology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Newstalk ZB

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