Toddler phase: carrying screaming child surfboard style parenting meme

If you haven't left somewhere carrying your screaming child surfboard style you're not really parenting 😂

This meme focuses on the relatable chaos of parenting toddlers. The upper section of the image is a candid photograph taken in a public park: a woman wearing a bright pink sleeveless dress walks across a green grass lawn, holding an upset, screaming young toddler horizontally under her arm as if she is carrying a surfboard, with a resigned, tired yet slightly amused expression. Below the photo, white text on a black background reads: 'If you haven’t left somewhere carrying your screaming child surfboard style you’re not really parenting' followed by a laughing crying emoji. The joke frames this messy, often embarrassing experience of having to remove an upset toddler from a public place as a universal, expected part of being a parent to young children.

This meme was originally shared on the Meme subreddit of Reddit, under the title 'Toddler phase'. It pairs a widely recognizable candid photograph of a parent carrying an upset toddler with relatable humorous text targeted at parents, and circulates as a relatable joke about the less glamorous parts of raising young children.