TikTok's Egg Cracking Challenge Is Putting Parents In Hot Water

TikTok has its fair share of food hacks, viral pranks, and trendy challenges for viewers at home to replicate. The app touts multiple fascinating egg-cracking alternatives if busting your shell on the edge of a pan is too difficult, as well as many hilarious videos that involve getting a reaction out of children.

However, the latest trend combines TikTok's two greatest traffic drivers in a prank that sees parents cracking eggs by smashing them on a toddler's forehead. While the challenge has elicited some giggle-worthy results, some viewers have taken issue with the trend for several reasons. For starters, many of the children in the videos seem nonplussed about having just had the front end of a breakfast unceremoniously slammed into their malleable skulls, with some even exclaiming things like "What the hell?!" "Ow! That hurts!" or even "What the heck is your problem?" Other TikTok users displayed concern in the comments, expressing sentiments such as "And they never trusted their parents again" and "Seeing the little girls cry... That ain't funny..."

While this prank doesn't necessarily constitute an act of violence, it does seem to teach children that violating their personal space is something to be laughed at and not taken seriously. The force needed to crack an egg can be enough to harm an unsuspecting toddler, many of whom begin to cry just before the videos cut off.

In addition to being downright rude, the TikTok challenge is wasteful, promotes negative behaviors from your young ones, and, worst of all, could potentially cause salmonella. According to the CDC guidelines, it is dangerous for raw eggs to come into contact with the eyes and for those handling raw eggs to touch their face or eyes before thoroughly washing their hands.

@funny.fuls

Egg cracking prank – No children are injured in this clip #CapCut #funny #fun #funnyvideos #prank #eggcrack #funnytiktok #foryoupage #eggchallenge #foryou

♬ nhạc nền – Funny.fuls

In the viral TikTok videos, egg whites can be seen dripping down the children's faces dangerously close to their eyes, causing the kids to wipe the mess away with their hands. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, most people have hopefully become certified hand-washing experts, especially when handling food, but young children are notorious for having perpetually sticky hands from messes they haven't yet learned to avoid. The bottom line is that this challenge likely won't win you any brownie points with the general public on the app and may leave your child in a state of frustration or worse.