Former Love Island contestant Montana Brown has shared a surprisingly effective parenting trick she discovered while preparing for her son's challenging 'threenager' phase, and the toddler's reaction was nothing short of priceless.
The 'Threenager' Challenge and a Bookish Solution
The 30-year-old reality TV star, who shares two-year-old son Jude and nearly one-year-old daughter Miley with fiancé Mark O'Connor, is no stranger to sharing the ups and downs of parenthood with her followers. With Jude approaching his third birthday, Montana sought advice from a bestselling parenting book, Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us about the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans.
She explained her motivation was to "get ahead" of the notorious 'threenager' stage, a term describing toddlers who exhibit the sass, stubbornness, and quest for independence typical of teenagers. Their big emotions and boundary-testing can make daily tasks a battleground.
Putting 'The Look' to the Test
One technique from the book particularly caught her eye: the concept of 'the look'. The method suggests using a silent, meaningful glance instead of verbal commands to guide a child's behaviour, theoretically reducing conflict by avoiding direct orders and words like "don't" or "stop".
Montana decided to trial this ancient-inspired wisdom during a common flashpoint: bath time. On Thursday, 15 January 2026, she filmed herself attempting the method. Leaning her head back and to one side while raising her eyebrows to widen her eyes, she shot the prescribed look at Jude, who was playing in the bath.
"I just thought, you know what? Let me just give it a go. It's probably not going to work," she admitted in the video. After a second attempt, the result was astonishing. Jude simply got up and climbed out of the tub.
"I was like 'OH MY GOD, that was so easy'," a shocked Montana recounted. "I mean, knowing him tomorrow it won't work but it was just really powerful."
A Viral Tip and Parental Validation
After sharing the clip on TikTok, other parents were quick to try the technique and report back with their own successes in the comments section.
One parent wrote: "I did this today and I felt like it was such a win! My toddler likes to change the settings on the washing machine while it's running. Today I just turned my head and glared and he took his hand off and walked away!"
Another commented, "My mum did the look and it workssss even NOW," while a third simply stated, "omg it works! I've been doing this with my toddler."
Montana's experiment highlights a universal parental quest for gentler, more effective communication strategies with strong-willed little ones. While she humourously doubts its permanence, the viral moment proves that sometimes, a look can indeed be worth a thousand words.
