At a Glance
- Maggie Dietert sent her four kids outside with apple slices and peanut butter, telling them they were living in the ’90s
- The game gave her a clean house while her husband was away and sparked 3.2 million Instagram views
- Her children now ask which foods and inventions existed in the decade
- Why it matters: Parents are rediscovering low-tech, outdoor play as a screen-free way to boost imagination
A Texas mom’s spur-of-the-moment parenting hack-pretending the family had traveled back to the 1990s-has exploded on Instagram and left her children begging for more retro days.
The Video That Started It All
Dietert posted a reel that opens with two paper plates piled with apple slices and a scoop of peanut butter. She walks toward a wooden play structure, picnic table tucked beneath, and announces: “Okay, we’re pretending it’s the ’90s, okay? You’re living outside now, you don’t come in.”
Her son asks, “Tonight we’re going to come in?”
“No, I mean, you come in when you sleep, and you come in if you’re bleeding,” she replies. “Otherwise, y’all are playing outside. We’re pretending it’s the ’90s, and that’s fine.”
The clip ends with Dietert joking in her caption: “Let’s get back to the pre-2000s level of parenting. I have already exceeded expectations by providing water bottles and a snack.”
Why She Did It
Dietert told News Of Losangeles the idea was born from simple necessity: her husband was out of town and she needed to clean without four sets of feet undoing every sweep of the broom.
“Truthfully, my husband was out of town and I just really wanted to be able to clean my house without them messing it up as I went,” she says. “I have read a lot about the benefits of outdoor free play for kids! So it just felt right to ‘pretend it’s the 90s’ because they like pretend games.”
How the Kids Reacted
The children-Coulter, 10, Sutton, 7, Crawford, 6, and Evan, 4-embraced the challenge. They spent the day inventing games, climbing, and exploring their spacious backyard. Dietert peeked out periodically to be sure no one was in trouble, but otherwise let them roam.
“They just made up games all day! They played outside,” she explains. “It’s amazing how a kid’s imagination grows when you let them work that muscle.”
The success didn’t stop at sundown. The kids now ask for repeat performances and quiz their mom on ’90s trivia.
“They loved it. We still play ’90s!” she says. “They will ask me, ‘Mom, did they have this food in the ’90s? Was this invented in the ’90s?’ It’s funny because we will have to explain things to them, like commercials or the radio.”
What Might Come Next
Having conquered the 1990s, Dietert is eyeing new decades. She tells News Of Losangeles she might try a 1970s or 1980s day next, complete with era-appropriate snacks and rules.
Above all, she hopes the experience steers her kids away from constant screen time.
“We tell the kids they will be boring if they watch too much TV or screens,” she says. “The screens think for them and then they don’t learn how to do it themselves, so hopefully they continue to value pretending for a while!”
Key Takeaways
- One mom’s cleaning hack became a viral lesson in low-tech fun
- Outdoor, unstructured play keeps kids engaged for hours
- Retro role-play can spark curiosity about history and technology
- Simple boundaries-come in only to sleep or if bleeding-give children freedom while keeping them safe
