About

The Jessica Trend or Jessica Trick is a parenting trend and method based on the theory that yelling the name "Jessica" will make a crying toddler settle down. The trend, which involves filming and uploading videos to test the theory, started spreading on TikTok in late March 2026 and was popularized in mid-April 2026, resulting in many videos that seem to show toddlers ending their tantrums abruptly due to the Jessica trend. The trend also inspired theories as to why it works, with one therapist suggesting it's the sudden shift in tone when saying the name that causes the toddler's brain to "reset" out of tantrum mode.

Origin

On March 26th, 2026, TikToker^[1] @krislynakuhn posted a video in which she soothes her crying toddler by saying the name "Jessica" in a concerned tone. The video's caption reads, "Saw another mom on here start yelling 'Jessica' when a toddler tantrum starts…" It is unclear who the other mom is or where the trend started exactly. The video gained over 12.2 million views in three weeks.

HuffPost^[2] featured a statement from a child therapist in an article about the trend published in mid-April 2026, who hypothesized on why the Jessica trend seems to work. She was quoted as saying:

"It’s pretty much impossible to stay in tantrum mode and enter curiosity mode at the same time. As a child therapist, I challenge my clients often to try and stay mad while they’re laughing […] When having a tantrum and in a state of intense dysregulation, kids aren’t in the ‘thinking part’ of their brain. The amygdala has been activated, emotions have taken over. So, an abrupt shift, such as shouting ‘Jessica,’ disrupts the brain activity. It’s like a reset for their little nervous systems. Sometimes all we need is a break, even just for a few seconds, to help us reregulate.

Spread

The Jessica trend and trick continued to spread on social media over the following weeks throughout April 2026, with many finding it successful.

On March 30th, 2026, TikToker^[3] @devinpalazzo posted a video in which she successfully tried the technique, garnering over 6.4 million views in three weeks.

On April 1st, TikToker^[4] @ngo.quang.thao posted a video following the trend where it successfully works on a young girl having a tantrum, garnering over 6.3 million views in three weeks.

On April 11th, 2026, actress Jessica Biel posted a video on TikTok^[5] in which she responds to the trend, saying she's "not really sure" how to react to the trend and claims that she's going to try it on her dogs, garnering over 277,000 views in four days.

On April 12th, TikToker^[6] @justxsomexgirl posted a video successfully doing the Jessica trick on their toddler, garnering over 760,000 views in three days.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References