TikTok's Cookie-Sharing Challenge Puts Your Child’s Generosity to the Test

Remember the M&M challenge where you’d place candies in front of toddlers and then "step away" for a moment to use the restroom or do some other "task," asking them to wait until you return to eat them? The challenge tested their discipline to see if they could resist the temptation while being recorded. It produced some hilarious results, with kids sneaking an M&M here and there and others sitting patiently, waiting for their parent to return so they could finally chow down.

Well, there’s a new challenge for kiddos making the rounds on TikTok, and this one tests their sharing abilities. Enter the cookie-sharing challenge. Here’s how it works, along with some of the best videos capturing the challenge playing out on TikTok now.

Sharing is a very important concept to teach small children (and even older ones if they haven't grasped it yet) to ensure the child you raise is giving. After all, it's nice to share with others who have less.

So, here’s how the cookie-sharing challenge on TikTok works: Parents set up a plate in front of themselves and their child without the child seeing.

One parent gets a plate with a single cookie, the child’s plate gets two cookies, and the other parent’s plate has nothing. Then, they cover all the plates with a napkin and tell the child there’s a surprise underneath.

Everyone then joins together at the table and uncovers their plate. The parent without cookies then points out how many cookies each person has, emphasizing to the child that they have nothing. This move puts the decision in the child’s hands to see what they’ll do. Will they give up one of their delectable cookies, seeing they have two, or will they keep both for themselves while one parent enjoys a cookie and the other sits there with nothing?

Of course, you can also modify the challenge to include two parents and a child or a parent and two siblings, with the younger child getting more cookies.

It seems folks sharing the cookie-sharing challenge on TikTok have some pretty generous kids. In many of the videos we viewed, after realizing their parent or sibling didn’t get a cookie, the child offers up one of the two they have. How sweet!

Of course, in a few, the child was hesitant, like with @itsmoniquesworld and her daughter, who insisted her mom go look elsewhere for a cookie and even clinked cookies with her father while her mom stayed without a treat. But by the end, she realized her mom didn’t have a cookie, wanted one, and gave her one of hers.

In another video shared by @thewingcrew, the couple's son also showcased his generosity, not by giving his dad (who didn’t get a cookie) a whole cookie, but instead half of each of his.

Perhaps the video by @lancomusic is the sweetest, as the couple’s daughter didn’t waste much time handing over one of her cookies to her mom, who didn’t get any. But of course, she also had to question dad on his reasoning for not giving mom one (you go, girl!), to which he clarified it was a joke. The challenge is not only hilarious and heartwarming, but it's also a fun way to see just how much your child loves you (kidding!).