Maybe you don’t need to try all new tactics to get your kids to listen to you. Perhaps your tactics just need a rebrand.

Take it from Nicole Ramirez, a mom from Austin, Texas who works a job in digital marketing. A post she shared to LinkedIn last week comparing motherhood to marketing has gone viral, and her words of wisdom about how she gets her picky eater to try new foods is resonating with so many parents who’ve been there, done that.

“Motherhood is just marketing,” the 33-year-old writes in the post which has amassed 11,000 likes and almost 900 comments as of press time. “My toddler hates fish but loves chicken. So last night, for dinner, I told him the salmon was ‘Beach Chicken.’ He cheered, ‘Yay! Beach Chicken!’ — and ate the whole thing.”

“It’s not lying,” she concludes. “It’s rebranding. Know your customer.” 

In an interview with TODAY, Nicole shares that she often uses her professional skills in parenting, getting creative when she needs her 2-year-old to do something (or eat something) he’s not too keen on. Other examples she’s found success with is referring to broccoli as “bushy trees” and saying that lunch is sponsored by Paw Patrol.  

As with any social media post, the comments on this one were mixed, with some LinkedIn users commending her creativity, and others pointing out that one day, her son may resent her for lying or question her credibility.  “People who think this is wrong clearly don’t have children lol,” one user wrote under @todayparents’ Instagram post about their news story.

My take? Sometimes, we gotta do what we gotta do as parents to make it through the day. If that means telling a little white lie to our kid to eat their veggies, so be it. This won’t work on my 7-year-old, who recently learned—spoiler alert—that Santa Clause and the tooth fairy aren’t real, but for those of you with kids under five or so, it’s not too late for you. Work that marketing mom magic. Good luck.

What do you think of this tactic? Is it inspiring you to get creative with your own ‘marketing’?

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