Making Mealtime Meaningful: Discover how we're giving back with the 12T Cares program →

When this little girl expressed her appreciation for her mother, you can imagine how much this meant to her.

As parents, we often feel like our children could not care less about the things or the sacrifices that are made. Children are more perceptive than we realize, though. They pay close attention and they certainly realize that we do a lot for them.

Photo: TikTok/@jefferson.sacramento

Parents do not do it for recognition because the job is its own reward. That does not mean that it is not nice to hear sometimes. “I appreciate what you do for me,” this little girl said to her mother at the dinner table. We cannot begin to imagine how she felt in that moment. If this was us, we would be struggling not to burst into tears.

Life has a way of coming at us and forcing us to survive, instead of thrive. We get up every day, get the little ones ready, and then we trudge off to work. From there, we get home and have a few hours to spend with the children before the routine starts all over again. It leaves us to wonder if our children are taking notice of anything that we do.

Photo: TikTok/@jefferson.sacramento

When they finally say so, it is like a weight is lifted off our shoulders. After all, this is what we do it for. Life is not as sweet without our children’s love and admiration. That’s what makes this video such a special one. Parents everywhere are sure to relate to this moment, whether they have experienced it for themselves or not.

It’s an age thing, for sure. Children seem to develop a keener sense of appreciation for what parents do for them as they grow older. It is easy to see how hard life can be for other children who are not as fortunate once they age.

Photo: TikTok/@jefferson.sacramento

Once this evolution takes place, they are far more likely to express their appreciation without any prompting.

TikTok user @jefferson.sacramento shared a video of the sweet interaction so you can see if for yourself below:

@jefferson.sacramento

#fyp

♬ original sound – Jefferson

Kudos to this sweet little girl for being so amazingly thoughtful.