A psychotherapist shared her perspective on “Corn Kid,” a little boy who has stolen the hearts of the internet.
If you don’t yet know who Corn Kid is, get ready to fall in love. Tariq, an elementary school student, was featured in an episode of Recess Therapy, a series where host Julian Shapiro-Barnum interviews children at New York City playgrounds. Tariq’s love of corn was the focus of the segment. With phrases like, “Have a corntastic day” and “It’s corn!” it was only a matter of time before he went viral.
“Ever since I was told that corn was real, it tasted good. But when I tried it with butter, everything changed. I love corn,” Tariq told Barnum.
With Tariq getting a song written in his honor and so many falling in love with him, psychotherapist Hali Riley weighed in on the phenomenon.
Riley believes Tariq is a “good example of excellent parenting” and, like most people online, has become “obsessed” with him. She believes it’s apparent that Tariq is given so much love and care that he’s able to shine bright.
“Somebody in this kid’s life is telling him that he’s beautiful and the things that he loves are beautiful,” Riley explained. “With the vocabulary and this kid is able to tell a story — someone talks to him and encourages him to speak his mind.”
She thinks adults in his life have encouraged him to be curious and try different things.
“This sounds like involved gentle parenting and it is beautiful,” she said. “This little boy is confident and emotionally intelligent. Yeah, it really is heartwarming to me.”
Users agreed with the psychotherapist’s analysis and shared their love of #CornTok.
“Finally someone put it into actual words!! You can definitely tell someone is pouring love into him by the descriptors he uses,” a person wrote.
“He didn’t know that corn was real until he was told and whoever told him didn’t make fun of him for not knowing,” another said.
“I noticed how large his vocabulary is and how he has a very sophisticated sense of humor. This is a really smart kid!” someone added.
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