One mom's Thanksgiving day advice went viral last year, resonating with parents across the country.
Emily Taylor was talking with another parent when she heard a comment that just didn't sit right with her.
"A comment was made (arguing) that boys can't stay in the kitchen all day like girls can when helping with Thanksgiving stuff," Taylor told TODAY.com. "This person has two adult sons. I was a little flabbergasted. Like: 'Yes they can, if you teach them to.'"
After continuing to think about the person's comment, Taylor sent a tweet urging parents to include their sons in Thanksgiving preparations.
"As we approach Thanksgiving, I beg of you please involve your boys in the preparations as much as you involve your girls," the Louisiana single mom of two sons and a daughter said. "Let them measure and mix and bake and create alongside their sisters. Have them set the table and pour drinks. Make them help clean up too."
"It was just a thought I had in my head, and that's what Twitter is for I guess," Taylor said. "I just think it's important that boys learn (domestic skills) early on. I've seen a lot of grown men who have that mindset — that they don't need to help with anything or the only thing they need to help with is the grilling or the smoking."
In a follow-up tweet, Taylor urged parents not to "let another generation of boys grow up to be men who think the kitchen is the domain of women until it's time to cut the turkey."
"As a single mom, it's important for me to teach all of my kids to be self-sufficient, to participate in family life and to contribute to everything that's going on in our home," Taylor explained.
Taylor says she taken aback by the reactions — both positive and negative — to her initial tweet.
"In my online circles, it was a really inconsequential thing to say — most people I know wouldn't have any argument with it," Taylor said. "But when I got outside of my 'normal circle'? Wow, people have some opinions."
Taylor explained that while her tweet resonated with a lot of people, including men who "grew up in the kitchen and appreciated those moments with their moms or dads," others were quick to vehemently disagree.
"A bunch of men were like: 'Nope, my job is to sit on the couch and watch football,'" she added.
According to one 2021 survey conducted by YouGov, an internet-based British international market research and data analytics firm, 48% of women surveyed said they do "all or most" of the cooking on Thanksgiving, and 21% of women said they "do all of the Thanksgiving dinner clean-up."
"I was pretty shocked that that was still such a prevalent response," Taylor said of the negative responses to her tweet. "That was around 40% of the comments, though I don't think that's the attitude of 40% of men in the world. But yeah, it was surprising to see that many comments like that. I got one particular message that was pretty hateful."
Last year, Taylor said her sons would absolutely be in the kitchen, prepping their portion of the Thanksgiving meal.
"My job is the green bean casserole and pumpkin pie," Taylor said. "So we'll be making green bean casserole and pumpkin pies to take to Thanksgiving."
As for her now-viral tweet, Taylor said she hopes parents are "more thoughtful and intentional" about what they're teaching their kids.
"We can help dispel myths that are prescribed to certain genders," she says. "And who knows? Maybe more boys will learn to love cooking and more girls will love watching football when we're doing all of those things together."
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