9-year-old texted his mom, 'You do fantastic awesome' with his baby sister — the reason he wrote it instead of saying it brought her to tears
A parent's heart can hold onto the smallest words from their child, especially when they come completely out of the blue. Threads user Raqketa, who goes by @the_raqketa_your_heart, got an unexpected surprise when her 9-year-old son asked to borrow his tablet. In a post she shared on Thursday, November 5, 2026, she said that he doesn't usually get screen time on weekdays, so she was curious about what he wanted to do. What she found was a sweet message about how much he loved watching her care for his baby sister, Pepper. But it was the reason he chose to write it down instead of saying it out loud that left Raqketa in tears.
Since her son rarely gets screen time on weekdays, Raqketa was surprised when he asked for his tablet, saying he had "something important" to do. The next thing she knew, she had received a sweet message from her son appreciating how lovingly she cared for his baby sister. In the screenshot she shared, the message read, "You do really good with [a pepper emoji]. You don't do good, you do fantastic awesome," followed by a whole lot of thumbs-up emojis. But the sweetest part came when he later told his mom that he loved watching her with his little sister. He said he had wanted to write it down so she could read it on days she might forget while he was at school, which deeply moved her.
Her son went one step further, adding a happy baby GIF, making the message all the more special. Raqketa was amazed that her little 9-year-old had thought of something so heartfelt on his own. His words touched her so deeply that she had been holding back tears ever since. As she put it, "I've had a lump in my throat since. God, I love that kid." It's easy to see why Raqketa was so moved. At just nine, her son had found a way to tell his mom how much he loved seeing her care for Pepper. He didn't just want to tell her once; he wanted her to have those words to read again on days when she needed them.
Raqketa's son's message is a sweet example of how children notice and appreciate the little things their parents do. A 2022 study published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies looked at gratitude conversations between 43 parent-child pairs in the United States. The study found that parents encouraged children to appreciate not only special moments but also everyday acts of care, helping them recognize kindness. Researchers also noted that conversations about these moments can help children develop gratitude.
People on Threads were just as emotional about the little boy's gesture. Some also joked that he had earned himself some extra screen time. @dnicefr_ commented, "Sounds like you’re pretty good at making people, friend." @2sav.bruh wrote, "Oh my God, I love that. It seems like you’re doing an outstanding job all around. So proud of you, gorgeous!” @1mizztrice added, “I feel like he should have weekday screen time twice next week for this."
For more of her posts, follow @the raqketa your heart on Threads.
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