A toddler has found the cutest way of letting his mom know she is in his thoughts while she's away from home, at work.
The pandemic has undoubtedly reshaped the modern workplace, with remote working now a common practice and an option increasingly preferred by parents, particularly those with young children.
In 2021, a YouGov survey on behalf of the Institute of Family Studies and the Wheatley Institution found more than half of parents with children under the age of 18 say the pandemic made them more likely to prefer working from home most of the time (33 percent ) or at least half of the time (20 percent).
The poll also found that parents with children aged 4 and under rated the arrangement that sees "both parents work flexible hours and share child care" as their preferred option. It was especially popular among mothers (37 percent) compared with fathers (25 percent).
Hannah Bell from North Carolina can't always be at home. Her job requires her to be in the office, which made things difficult for her and her infant son, Landon.
"I started consistently leaving for work before my son woke up in the morning, so we didn't get to see each other most mornings," Bell told Newsweek.
Though Bell only works three days a week, being apart from Landon, who is just 23 months old, for even that amount of time is difficult.
What she didn't realize when the arrangement first began, however, was that her husband George, had already teamed up with Landon to come up with a solution.
Now, whenever they leave the house for the day, George makes sure that Landon says hello and goodbye to his mom through their doorbell camera.
The boys began doing it for mom a few months ago and have kept things going ever since, much to Bell's delight.
"Seeing the videos makes me feel so happy, loved, and missed," she said. "It's so hard as a working parent to be away from your baby for most of the day, so those little videos get me through the day and remind me he is thinking of me."
The daily ritual has been something that Bell looks forward to more than anything else in the workplace. "It is absolutely the highlight of my day," she said. "I wait all morning at my work desk waiting for the notification."
Bell has always believed in the importance of sharing "sweet moments that make me smile" so thought little of sharing it to TikTok under the handle hannah.I.bell. It drew a similar response.
"This is the sweetest thing ever! I hope he never stops doing this!" one viewer wrote. "What a good daddy he has," another commented with a third adding: "My husband holds my son up to the ring camera each morning since he's too little to do this yet. Melts my heart."
It's a gesture that's not just reserved for mom either.
"Sometimes my husband travels for work for multiple days in a row too and Landon, will talk to him on the doorbell too," Bell said.
English (US) ·