New Jersey mom shares her ‘zero money’ way to entertain toddlers

A mom has gone viral for showing how you can spend the day entertaining your toddler without spending a dime.

Caitlin French, 30, is the mother of 19-month-old Cyrus. She spends much of her time taking him around the boardwalk of the seaside town of Ocean City, New Jersey, where they explore the sights and sounds.

French explained that Cyrus gets up at 6 a.m. every morning Newsweek: “We just have to get out. We go to the park, to the playground, but we end up on the boardwalk and running around.”

During one of their numerous explorations, the French discovered a café that was attached to an arcade. Even though the arcade wasn’t fully open due to it being early in the morning, she and her son were allowed to explore the inside. It was here that French realized her son would happily play for hours without her having to pay a dime.

He enjoyed climbing motionless cars, watching the flashing lights, and pressing buttons for games that weren’t even playing yet—and French had inexpensive, easy-to-fill hours ahead of him.

She shared the hack on her TikTok page @caitlin.emmaline on October 14 and the video has over 10 million views and nearly 2 million likes. The video showed Cyrus sitting at a car game and pretending to steer, while French told viewers: “Hot tip: go to the arcade with your toddlers.”

“He’s having a great time. I didn’t spend any money. He doesn’t know what the hell is going on.”

Revealing that they had been there for “hours” and she had only spent money on coffee, she said: “He’ll just get on and off with the same things and push the same buttons.”

“Take your toddlers to the arcade,” she finished. “It’s almost free.”

told in French Newsweek that the setup was “ideal” because “I can grab a coffee, and if he’s playing one of the car games, I’ll sit next to him and just sit for a bit.”

“Everything moves up and down from the seats just to press the buttons. He loved it.”

TikTok users loved the idea. Thousands commented on the clip, including one who explained that he was following him “for more tips for toddlers.”

One mother admitted: “The day my kids found out you could play the games by putting coins in them was the day we stopped going.”

And as another TikTok user put it, “If you spent money you would just get frustrated and try to teach him how to play and it won’t be fun for anyone.” All I know is that I think you’re a genius.”

But as is the nature of the internet, French also received negative comments from people who called it unfair that she didn’t spend money on her son playing at the arcade.

As she explained it Newsweek, On a previous visit, she put a coin in the car and it started moving. At this point, Cyrus “freaked out” and immediately hit the road. When she paid him to shoot water at ducks, he “got bored and ran away.”

She never expected her video to go so viral as her other clips garnered around 500 views, so she wasn’t prepared for some backlash. However, she praised a close group of other moms on TikTok who assured her that she was doing a great job and that Cyrus was clearly having fun.

Addressing allegations that they don’t support local businesses, French said her husband, real estate agent Zach French, was born and raised in the town and his family has lived there for more than 100 years. His mother took him to the boardwalk throughout his childhood, and now they were doing the same with her son.

“Now when we’re on the boardwalk, I get a coffee at this little stand and he gets in and out of the cars, in and out of the games.”

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