We all agree that mornings with toddlers are the hardest, right? How is anyone that perky at 5:30 a.m.? Certainly, not us poor parents, many of whom still (still!) had to wake up at least once in the night because someone had a bad dream/needed water/needed to cry/wet the bed/had a random thought they just had to share at 1 a.m.

So, it’s no surprise that many of us, still not quite awake when our children are, resort to screen time first thing in the morning. But while that’s a totally fine solution for some, others prefer to start the day with gentler activity.

TikTok user @abigaellanai, “Abby”, has an elegant solution: a morning basket.

In a recent video, which has been viewed more than 4.5 million times as of press time, Abby sits in a silent house with a cup of coffee while her child plays quietly on the floor in front of her.

“If you’ve been debating doing ‘morning baskets’ for your kids let this be your sign. This has been the sound of my house for the last half hour with an almost 3-year-old.”

Honestly, we’re sold. Unfortunately, this ringing endorsement was for a product we’re entirely unfamiliar with.

What is a morning basket?

What magical item can yield such gloriously quiet, relaxing results? Abby made a follow-up video explaining how the whole thing works.

“What is a morning basket? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like,” she explains.

It’s a basket (one she found in her house) that she fills toys and activities for her toddler to do first thing in the morning to try to deter her from screen time. She goes on to say that while she isn’t an “anti-screen time mom,” she also uses screen time. But in the mornings, the basket has proven successful.

“OK,” you might be wondering, “So why not just let the child have free reign of all their toys? Why is a morning basket even a thing?”

Morning basket ideas

Abby explains that her daughter does have access to all her toys, but in the morning she doesn’t always know where or how to start. (Too many decisions to make too early: we’ve been there, baby girl.)

“Having this basket with just a couple items has really helped focus her and lead her to having some independent play without me having to facilitate it,” Abby says. “And for me, that’s the whole point of the morning basket. I just need 10 minutes to myself to drink my coffee while it’s still hot and let my brain fully wake up.”

Amen.

She highlights the fact that her morning basket doesn’t include any newly bought toys — just ones that were in the house already — and contains a mix of items her daughter plays with all the time and some that she’s probably forgotten about and so will be novel when she sees them again. She also notes that she rotates the toys so that the basket remains exciting for her little one.

The comments were full of parents applauding this idea. Many expressed that they, too, have found success with a morning basket system and many more saying they were excited to try it with their own little ones… and not so little ones.

“Me about to do this for my [boyfriend] so I can get some peace in the morning,” joked one commenter. “That man be too excited to just be awake.”

So there you have it: the morning basket! Enjoy this information and use it in your own house… either on your toddlers or your partners.