Babies are adorable, but they're notoriously bad at sitting still and following directions.
It's a fact we all know, but most of us don't really consider too much until it's time to get your baby to hold still and follow directions, of course.
That's when it's time to get creative.
The "parental creativity" on display in one video has the non-parents of TikTok stunned and is giving everyone a solid laugh.
The clip shows a baby getting a passport photo taken. If you've done this as an adult, you know it's a nitpicky process at best.
The requirements are incredibly—some would say annoyingly—specific. So much so that lots of businesses offer passport photos as a service because it's too much of a hassle to do on your own.
Here are just some of the current rules and requirements for United States passport images.
The photo must be:
- In color
- Sized such that the head is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (22 mm and 35 mm) or 50% and 69% of the image's total height from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head
- Taken within the last 6 months to reflect your current appearance
- Taken in front of a plain white or off-white background
- Taken in full-face view directly facing the camera
- With a neutral facial expression and both eyes open
- Taken in clothing that you normally wear on a daily basis
It's hard enough to get a baby to look in the general direction of the camera.
Getting a baby to look directly facing a camera with a neutral expression, framed so that their giant baby-head takes up approximately 61% of the photo, and rocking street casual fashions sounds like … a lot.
Enter, The Sheet Method:
Some people just lay their babies down on the floor, but that doesn't work too well if they're mobile and can voluntarily peace out on you.
Blurry passport photos are against regulations.
For little ones who won't hold still or are uncomfortable being put down on the floor, there's The Sheet Method. It involves having the child sit on a parent's lap while the parent is covered with a sheet to create the necessary white or off white background.
When you're about to become a parent, nobody ever tells you stuff like:
"One day, you'll be sitting in public paying someone to take a picture of you dressed as a Jedi ghost with your kid sitting on your lap. Strangers will then talk about you on the internet."
... but that's exactly what people mean when they say parenting gets weird.
And it's a weird TikTok loves.
@chantellefen/TikTok
@chantellefen/TikTok
@chantellefen/TikTok
@chantellefen/TikTok
@chantellefen/TikTok
@chantellefen/TikTok
@chantellefen/TikTok
@chantellefen/TikTok
@chantellefen/TikTok
So yeah ... parenting.
It gets real wild.
