Decoding TikTok's 'Pink Tote Mom' trend and why is it going viral?

At first glance, 'Pink Tote Mom', may look like a new fashion trend moms are fascinated about, but it isn't, as it sheds light on a serious issue of emotional manipulation or abusive parents. It's about the moms and dads who engage in dramatic showdowns with their children over minor issues (a pink tote bag maybe), often gaslighting their concerns, and insisting on why "they are always right" even if it makes little sense otherwise, irrespective of what the child's age is. It could be a 10 year old who may thing it's all my fault or a late teenager who understands things well, but is still subjected to control.
This toxic parenting trend kicked off, courtesy a younger TikToker Jaycie's video, who poured her heart out in a video, shot in a darkened room, and whispered about her argument with her parents over a minor issue that just didn't make any sense to her. While the little one has since deleted her video, and changed her profile description to 'my mom is not abusive', similar stories about emotional abuse by parents are doing the rounds, narrated by children who feel unnecessarily bossed upon by their parents.
The young TikToker in her video shared that she was drying her hair after taking a shower when her mom banged on the bathroom door noisily and said: ‘You wanna have a f*cking spa day? Go to sleep! I need help!’ Jaycie said that she hurried up, got dressed, and got out and asked her mom what she wanted help with, to which her mother replied with a vague, “I need you to put the pink things in my room.”

When Jaycie asked her what she meant by “pink things”, it caused her mother to explode in anger and shout swear words at her. Her dad also joined the argument and took her mother's side.
The TikToker cried and added, “They’re both just going off on me.”
Other Pink Tote Mom stories that people are sharing on social media:
“My pink tote lid moment was my dad coming into my room at 2 a.m. on a school night just to tell me he bought me ice cream. And when I wasn’t more excited, even though I was barely awake, he screamed at me for being disrespectful and not being more appreciative for him getting me ice cream. He didn’t leave my room until 4 a.m.”
- TikToker @brees.a.dinosaur
"OMG, whenever my mom would get started in on me as a kid over whatever wrong she thought I had done, my dad would start in on me too. He would parrot everything back at me she often this would go on."
- juliecureton391
"My "pink tote lid" moment was my entire childhood. It's like I remember everything and nothing all at the same time. As an adult, I still live with the lasting effects of it all. But most will never know because it's not something you can see on somebody but something I endure mentally and emotionally every day. Always on edge, never knowing if someone is going to scream at me, not knowing if I'm doing the right/wrong thing, questioning everything about myself, blaming myself for everyone's issues, not believing I am worthy of anything good, isolating myself because I feel like I'm the problem, wondering what's wrong with me and why I can't do anything right. And this is as an adult by the way...I've been gone from that environment for almost 7 years and still feel I'm there to this day. Just a sad confused little girl not understanding why."
- @the_lickk/TikTok

Emotional abuse may be difficult to process sometimes for children since it isn't as obvious as physical abuse. However, this may leave marks on a child's psyche. Emotional abuse may impact a child for the rest of their life.‌ Emotional abuse negatively impacts a child by limiting their emotional abilities, changing their patterns of behavior, impacting their ability to concentrate and learn at school, damaging their self-esteem‌, and providing a distorted view of what parents should be, according to WebMD. Child emotional abuse may include yelling, criticizing, and negative attitudes. It also includes withholding love, attention, and nurturing.‌
Constant belittling can make children feel unworthy and incapable, stripping them of confidence to try new things or trust their instincts. Over time, they may internalize these negative messages, believing they are fundamentally flawed or undeserving of love.