Mom Regrets Telling Daughter To 'Smile More' For Her School Recital

She gave her mother the smile she asked for...

By Nia Tipton — Written on May 12, 2023

Photo: TikTok

After a mother told her daughter to look more enthused during her school play, her daughter's reaction had her rethinking ever saying anything in the first place.

In a video, TikTok user Annie, a mother of four, explained that she had done a major "parenting fail" after telling her daughter, Evie, that for her school recital, she should try and look more appealing to the audience while performing.

Evie took her mother's advice, but not without adding a dash of pettiness.

She told her daughter to 'smile more' during her school recital.

In Annie's video, she had been watching Evie rehearse for the school's rendition of 'Beauty and the Beast: Tell All," a 30-minute school musical play. During the rehearsal, Evie performed with a bit of a straight face and didn't look too happy to be there at all.

Once the rehearsals were over, Annie explained that she "regrettably said the one thing no female *ever* wants to hear" and told her daughter she needed to smile more during the live performance of the play. At the advice of her mother, Evie decided to listen, but not without putting her own spin on it.

"She took my advice exactly how you'd expect," Annie wrote in overlay text while recording her daughter's performance. During the entire time, Evie had smiled, but it was clearly a forced smile. For the entire performance, Evie had a Joker-esque smile on her face.

Not only that, but Evie also proceeded to stare at her mother with the creepy, yet hilarious, grin on her face just to prove to her that she had indeed taken the advice, but not in the way that her mom had meant it.

"I'm pretty sure the other parents are pissed right now," Annie assumed. Rather than get angry, though, Annie took her daughter's pettiness in stride and even found the entire incident funny as well. "I can't even be mad at my kid, because I've never laughed so hard in my life."

Telling girls to 'smile more' only reinforces gender stereotypes.

While Annie's initial advice was a bit troublesome, she acknowledged that it wasn't her best idea to tell her daughter she needed to smile. In fact, telling someone, particularly girls or women, to smile can be problematic and should generally be avoided.

Telling girls or women to smile often stems from societal expectations that they should appear pleasant, approachable, or visually appealing. This reinforces gender stereotypes and can contribute to the pressure to prioritize their appearance over their comfort or well-being.

By asking girls to smile, it creates a link to the expectation that women should be approachable, friendly, and accommodating. It implies that their role is to make others feel comfortable and cater to their needs.

This can ultimately create pressure on girls and women to constantly appear pleasant, even if they are not in the mood or facing personal challenges. In the comments section, people rooted for Evie's humorous response to her mother's request.

Mom Tells Her Daughter To 'Smile More' For Her School Recital — Her Daughter's Response Had Her Regretting That Decision

She gave her mother the smile she asked for...

She told her daughter to 'smile more' during her school recital.

Telling girls to 'smile more' only reinforces gender stereotypes.