Mom wanted her young daughter to feel confident as she started school—established an important ritual
The first day of school might be a big moment in a kid's life. So a mom wanted her daughter to start kindergarten with confidence and self-belief. To ensure that, she decided to do affirmations with the girl as she got her ready for school. The mom, Tiania Haneline, started doing the daily ritual with her daughter, Scarlett, so she could learn to love herself the way she is. Tiania also wanted to make sure that her daughter extended that kindness to others, per a video on TikTok, where the mom goes by @scarlettandtiania. The clip received over 5.1 million likes.
Tiania was doing her daughter's hair back in 2021 before she went to pre-k as they shared their affirmations ritual with the internet. Scarlett also enthusiastically volunteered to say the affirmations as her mom repeated them after her. "I am beautiful, I am strong," Scarlett said, while looking at herself in the mirror. Her mom repeated after her as she styled the girl's hair. "I am careful." She added, "I love my curls." While the mom continued, "I love your curls, too." The girl asked her mom to do the talking after that. "I am kind...since we are going to school. I am patient. I share with my friends," Tiania encouraged her daughter to repeat and the girl did that.
@scarlettandtiania Affirmations with Scarlett before we go to Pre-K! @hairitagebymindy #hairitageambassador #hairitagebymindy #affirmationswithscarlett #scarlettgray ♬ original sound - Scarlett and Tiania
"I define my own beauty," the mom pointed out next. "Good, yes girl. I am confident." Tiania was done doing her daughter's hair and put a gorgeous bow on her, while Scarlett did the finishing touches herself. "I am going to have a good day. Mommy have a good day," Scarlett expressed. "Yes, because girls can have a good day," the mom continued. Tiania started doing affirmations with her daughter back in 2020, when Scarlett was three years old, per PEOPLE. "Scarlett was doing my hair and I said, 'You know what? I'm going to do some affirmations.' It was incredibly powerful to me. I had never looked at myself in the mirror. A big thing is being able to look at yourself when you tell yourself, 'I am who I am.' I remember bawling; it was so powerful to me."
The affirmations have also taught the girl to stand up for other people. "If Scarlett hears someone is not being kind to someone else, she makes sure she lets them know that that was not very nice. If we implement it in our kids, then those kids can help other kids in their classroom," Tiania pointed out. "Daily affirmations are the way to go and they don't need to put so much pressure on when to do it or what they're saying. Every kid's going to be different. Somebody might be going through something different than another child." The duo also reminded each other to say their affirmations and acted like each other's accountability partners.
Thousands of people appreciated the practice in the comments section of the video. @nyla_22 wrote, "My mom and I always bonded while she did my hair, so it makes me so happy to see you do this. I wish I had learned to love my hair earlier like she did." @lilnicky182 commented, "Yes! Affirmations! This is the perfect age to start. Love this. You all are amazing." @msb.unhinged remarked, "This is absolutely everything. I love the affirmations." Tiania often shares things that the mom and daughter do together on the page. In one video, the duo shared that they had a photoshoot.
You can follow Tiania and Scarlett (@scarlettandtiania) on TikTok for more family-related content.