‘I’m trying to save your life’: Unprepared new uncle wages a losing war against his stubborn nephew

Being a parent is hard, and for those of us on the fringes — AKA serving our families as aunties and uncles — the trick to adjacent parenting is often beyond us.

As a result, aunts and uncles often become the go-to for fun, anarchical outings that abandon those pesky parental rules in favor of sheer, delightful lawlessness. That lawlessness sometimes comes back to bite us, unfortunately, and TikToker J’chelle (@jchellestryingherbest)’s brother is definitely feeling the bite. 

The freshly-minted nunkey is still adjusting to his status as an occasional caregiver, and its not going great. He’s learning first-hand just how hard — and impossibly stubborn — a toddler can be, and he’s about ready to throw in his uncle card for good. A painfully relatable video showcases the actual warfront this man battles upon each and every time he faces his obstinate nephew, and — while he doesn’t enjoy a second of it — the resulting clip provided one minute of unmatched entertainment for his sister’s viewers to enjoy. 

The battle begins and ends with little man’s highchair, which he clearly sees as a prison. Rather than give his suffering uncle a single inch, the powerful little guy fights him every single step of the way. He resists his lofty lockup with unparalleled dedication, something that urges his uncle to rage-quit several times, even admitting at the end that he “cannot be a parent.”

He may come around to the idea someday, but it seems his nephew, Lucio, isn’t coming around to the high chair anytime soon. Commenters, on the other hand, are clamoring for more Tio vs Lucio content, as they revel in the epic standoff between two stubborn boys. 

That’s not to say there’s a complete absence of empathy in the comment section, where quite a few people bewailed the unexpected strength of babies, but that doesn’t drown out the people demanding Lucio and Tio go to war over a carseat next. Comments like “Babies really be fighting for their right to be in danger” are hopefully somewhat of a balm on Tio’s wounded pride, as they underline just how many people recognize that “fighting a tiny human to HELP them is another kind of crazy.”

That’s not just a perception, either. Babies really are unexpectedly strong, something scientists have actually spent a good amount of time studying. Those tough tendencies among babies are actually a part of our evolutionary biology, baked into our most basic instincts from the moment we’re born. A good grip has been vital to survival throughout human history, leading to some truly impressive evolutionary developments. A baby’s grip strength, relative to their body weight, actually far surpasses that of an adult. If you, as an adult, boasted the same grip strength, you’d be edging into superhero territory.

Lucio seems to be flirting with a future in super heroing himself — or perhaps super villainy. He’s certainly emerged as a villain in his uncle’s narrative, but only time will tell if he goes in the direction of the Avengers, or if we have a real-life Baby Doll on our hands.