If you’re a parent on Instagram, chances are you’ve come across one of 36-year-old comedian George Lewis’s videos at some point or other.
The father-of-two from Manchester can often be found recounting hilariously relatable scenarios that lots of parents find themselves in. Ya know, like when your kid licks the slide at the park but won’t eat their veggies. That kind of thing.
One of his more popular videos features him comparing life with one child to when number two comes along – and it’s safe to say things couldn’t be more different.
In the clip titled ‘first kid v second kid’, Lewis films himself asking whether his first child is breathing, or the right temperature, or [insert a million other worries first-time parents have]. Basically all of the over-obsessive clucking we do with our first babies because, let’s face it, we don’t know what the hell we’re doing.
“Is he breathing? Is he alright in there? Is he too hot? Is he too cold? Is he wrapped up too tight? Is he alright? Is he breathing? Just check if he’s alright,” says a concerned Lewis while looking off camera.
In scenario two, about his second child, he asks: “Is he called Alan? Alfie, yeah. No I didn’t know that. I just get that wrong every time.
“Not seen him in a couple of days. Is he alright? You’ve not...? He’ll be alright.”
While writing his book Don’t Panic! All The Stuff The Expectant Dad Needs To Know, Lewis said he spoke to other comedian parents and realised “we all get the same things wrong and get baffled or annoyed by the same things our kids do”.
Discussing the format of the ‘first kid v second kid’ video, he explains: “When we had our second child we looked back and realised how insane our behaviour was with our first kid. It was so nice to share it and see how many other parents did the same.”
And the content is clearly hitting a chord with other parents, as well as people who have siblings. In the comments section of the video, one fan wrote: “My middle sister literally broke her foot and it took two weeks for anything to be done.”
“I’m the fourth child,” another added, “fairly sure my parents forgot they had me until the 5th baby of the family arrived and I got to be babysitter.”
Some of his other videos include the lies that parents tell their kids and a hilarious and equally infuriating impression of kids eating at home versus them eating at nursery.
“I usually film the little sketches when one of my kids does something confusing, funny or just infuriating,” the comedian tells HuffPost UK.
“In the moment, their behaviour can drive you crazy and make you feel like the worst parent in the world. But when you share it and see every other parent is going through something similar, you feel like you’re not so bad after all (or we’re all terrible parents).”
He adds that the other day, for example, his son licked a lamppost – so, of course, he made a video about it.
“It made me think either he was wild or I was just a terrible dad who hadn’t taught him what food is. I made a video about it and it turns out there are children licking bins, sucking snails and eating pine cones all over the country!”