‘Why do we get such joy from this’: Pint-sized paleontologist attacks mom with dinosaur puppet and her reaction deserves an Oscar

Playing pretend is such a special part of being a kid. But as we age, those baby dolls get played with less and less, the dress-up box starts to gather dust, and we start forgetting how to create a brand new world in our heads.

However, the good news is that eventually children may enter your life and you will be reminded of the joy and magic of playing pretend once again. Of course, it does take some practice to figure out how to use your imagination and play a spot-on game of pretend with the children in your life.

But one TikTok mom in particular seems to have playing pretend down pat, so much so that her toddler feels the need to remind her that it’s all just a game.

Laura Bentley uploaded a video of her toddler playing with a dinosaur hand puppet. He pretended to attack his mom with the T-rex. His dinosaur impression is so convincing that his mom screams in terror every time the T-rex comes growling toward her.

Of course, this leaves the mini-paleontologist in a fit of giggles, but he doesn’t want his mom to get too frightened, so he takes off the puppet to show her that it’s still just him under there. Regardless, her performance is Oscar-worthy.

Viewers can’t get over the mom’s incredible performance accompanied by her toddler’s unabashed glee. They chimed in to comment on how much joy and laughter radiated from the video, a few even commenting how much they missed this play-pretend stage with their little ones.

Several were even inspired to buy puppets for little ones of their own. After all, playing pretend is one of the best parts of being a kid, who doesn’t want some props to make it all the more enjoyable?

Of course, Laura’s award-winning performance can’t be bought, but fun-loving parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and babysitters can definitely take some notes on how to be a giggle-worthy hit during their next game of baby paleontologists.

According to Bright Horizons, not only is pretend play fun, but it’s also important to childhood development. Through pretend play, kids can learn important life lessons. They begin to notice their likes and dislikes, and experiment with things that they’ve observed in the real world. It also, in turn, helps them to understand the world around them. Playing a doctor, for example, helps them work out real-life fears and feelings about getting a shot or making a doctor’s visit.

Make-believe playtime also cultivates emotional and social intelligence. Pretend play exercises conflict resolution, compromise, and collaboration with other children, or even their parents.

Granted, playing with a dinosaur probably doesn’t apply all that much to the real world, but recognizing emotion and exercising empathy (by showing his mom his hand) were both fully at play while this little kid growled with his puppet.

And as for the benefits to the parent, well, Laura certainly lived out whatever lifelong dream she may or may not have had as absolutely demolishing it as Extra #3 in the next Jurassic Park film.