Jessi Meeks Keeps It Hella Real

Within five minutes of talking to Jessi Meeks, you can tell she's a fun hang. The former middle school science teacher is in it; she and her husband have three kids: a 6-year-old boy, a 5-year-old boy, and a 3-year-old girl. Like so many other content creators Moms of the Internet™ know and love, Meeks got her start during the pandemic. She went from 450 to 17,000 followers literally overnight — more on that in a second — and the rest is, as they say, history.

Now the funny mom posts Reels and grid stories daily, on everything from her relationship, to the bonkers things kids say and do, to helpful activities she does with her kids on the regular. She's a favorite follow because she keeps it exceedingly real, and she's not afraid to poke fun at herself.

I chatted with the Georgia-based mom on a day when my kids were home from school thanks to a "snow" day (i.e., when the snow didn't really happen but school called it the night before) and she was running solo for a bit. Needless to say, we bonded. And I think you'll adore her as much as I do.

Scary Mommy: Tell me about being an 8th-grade science teacher and making the switch.

Jessi Meeks: I started teaching [when] I was 22, and I taught for three years and then got pregnant, decided to be a stay-at-home mom. I loved teaching, but I couldn't imagine sending my child to daycare. That was just something that I, personally, I am such an anxious person that I was like, "I can't." I don't know why; I would love to send one of them to daycare right now.

At the time, I had social media, but I was just like how most people use it, just like for my friends. And then, during COVID, when Reels became a thing, I was doing them. I literally only had 450 followers of actual people that I knew. I went to bed one night having posted one; the next morning, it was at 17 million views and I had 17,000 followers, and that just started it all. I just kept posting funny reels, just voiceovers. Literally, it's just grown, and it's become a thing.

SM: So it's been five-ish years then I guess.

JM: Yeah, because it was 2020 because my middle son was just born.

SM: I guess your kids are a little young to understand what your personality is now. What does the rest of your family think about it?

JM: They think it's hysterical. It's really my mom. My mom and I are super close. She's my main person in my family, so she loves it. If you look at any of my Reels, she is the first comment on everything. If there's ever anyone that's snarky back, my mom will [take them on].

SM: I've been thinking a lot about parenting my children individually. How do you parent your kids separately for the different personalities?

JM: Our firstborn is very much a typical firstborn. He's a rule follower; he will listen to directions. He does not like to get in trouble; he's very sensitive. And then our second born literally cannot be more opposite. It never even crossed my mind that we would parent differently until my second has very different needs and love language, and what discipline he responds to is different, so it's been a constant learning challenge for us.

Then my third just came in, and I mean, she just tornadoed her way into the house. We are still learning how to discipline them differently, how to show them love differently because they all three, their love language is different. We are still learning — I don't think that's something that we'll ever stop learning.

SM: You don't think about kids in love language at all. That's really interesting. What has been the most surprising and/or disgusting thing about raising boys so far? Because they're gross.

JM: I know, I literally just posted a Reel about this — that they were, like, nose-to-butt farting to sleep.

SM: What does your daughter say about that?

JM: She is so not about it. She is fierce in her own way, having two brothers. She's tough and she's fierce and she's half-feral, but she's not gross. And she thinks they're, she says “disgust tanks,” so she thinks they're “disgust tanks.”

SM: Oh my God, I hope that never changes for you.

JM: I know… My oldest, when he was potty training, for whatever reason, he called underwear undersuits. And so since he's been 3, we have called them undersuits. He went to kindergarten at 6, and I guess someone said underwear and he came home and mentioned his underwear. And I was like, "No, they are undersuits. They will always be undersuits."

SM: That's such a great word for it, too.

JM: I know. It's so fancy.

SM: What are some of your go-to chill-out activities, especially in the winter when everyone's stir-crazy?

JM: It's so counterintuitive, but painting is always a go-to that calms them down. I get out craft paper, and I just cover the whole table and put some paint in bowls and just let them paint the craft paper. I tried to keep it as simple as possible because I hate the activities that look so cute, but that require so much effort on my part, especially when they're at your feet, "What are we doing? Are you almost done?" Asking all those questions, I can't stand that. It's got to be quick for me.

We also have those scooter boards for getting energy out. They're the ones that you had in PE back in the day. I love those things. We put painter's tape on the ground, so it's a track in the house, and they Mario Kart their way around the house.

SM: I forgot those things existed.

JM: And they don't scratch floors. Everyone's worried about fingers getting crushed, and that's a natural consequence. You do it one time, you're not going to do it again.

SM: Who do you love to follow on Instagram? Do you find yourself following a lot of teachers or funny people or a mix of both?

JM: I don't follow a lot of education accounts or I don't follow a lot of sensory play or OTs or anything for two reasons. I feel like I already do so much of that I don't want to consume anymore. But I also want the ideas that I have to be as original as they can. I feel like every activity has been done at this point. I try to take those cute ones and just make it simple. I love following funny people. One of the only activity accounts I follow is Chaos with Cara, but we've become friends — friend-friends. And then funny people that I love. Do you follow Christina Kirkman or Erika Priscilla? I love both of them; they're so hysterical, and they post just completely different stuff than what I do, so I just love watching them. They're just so funny and so real.

SM: That's fun. Do you have any people that, when they followed you, you lost your mind?

JM: The Rock, Dwayne Johnson.

SM: Oh, wow.

JM: I know. However, he did unfollow me because he unfollowed everybody that he followed. But there was a year period where Dwayne The Rock Johnson followed me on Instagram, and it rocked my world. I would tag him and stuff, and he would comment; we would message. There was a time.

SM: Do you have a personal motto, and do you have a motto you tell your kids every day so they?

JM: My own, personally, is to “lower the bar.” I feel like it's so easy to scroll and feel like you have to do more and more and more for your kids. I think sometimes we forget that kids love simple and easy and happy moms. And if we lower the bar, mom's going to be happy and the kids are going to be happy, and those are the two important things.

I say that to myself a lot because, before I really started on social media, I was doing a lot of very cutesy Pinterest activities with them because they felt like I should be since I was a stay-at-home mom who used to be a teacher. And it just is not sustainable, even for someone who has a degree in doing stuff like this. Mine to my kids is I just really try to hammer home being polite and kind. Those are the two — I don't care how smart you are; I don't care how funny you are. I'm just, we really, really try to hone in on them being kind people.

SM: Yeah. The polite thing is good, too. The best text you can ever get from another mother is, like, "Your son was over, and he was so polite.”

JM: Yes. I know. And same thing with my oldest; I got an email like that from his teacher, and I was like, "Oh, OK." That's all I care about.

SM: He's being a jerk to me, but at least he's nice not at home. What are they watching that drives you crazy and/or that you love?

JM: I cannot stand when they want to watch YouTube, and the next video will play, and it's just of kids playing with toys. I cannot stand that. I'm like, "You just get up and do that. You don't have to watch somebody else. You have those — go play." But one thing I will let them watch literally almost whenever they want is Numberblocks. It's on YouTube. It's also on Netflix, and it is the best show. They have Numberblocks, which helps with basic math skills, and Alphablocks helps with their early phonics skills.

SM: So, how do you blow off steam at the end of the day?

JM: I read.

SM: What do you read?

JM: I'm all into the romantasy, the dark romance, all of that. ACOTAR, Throne of Glass — I'm reading it all. I just finished my 12th book of the year.

SM: That's good. Do you have a go-to karaoke song?

JM: Oh, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” Every time, give me the mic.

SM: Do you often get out to karaoke? I never get out to karaoke anymore, which is so sad.

JM: Yeah, no. I mean, for someone who does not karaoke, I had a very quick response to that.

SM: Fair enough. OK, so do you have a drink of choice?

JM: I do — White Claw. I'm just a straight-up White Claw Black Cherry. It's perfection. There's just nothing that compares. I've tried them all. I'm just a White Claw girl. Do you like any White Claw?

SM: Not really. I've learned over the years that I really like a margarita, and I like wine, and that's really it.

JM: See, the sad thing is that before my second son, I loved red wine. After him, I don't know what he did to my taste buds, but I cannot drink wine anymore. I have a gag reflex to it now.

SM: Oh, that's so sad.

JM: I know. I used to love a glass of wine at night.

SM: That's not a good side effect. Switching gears: What would your last meal be?

JM: Oh, do you want to know how often I think about this?

SM: Oh, I think about it all the time.

JM: All the time. Okay, a bowl of Lucky Charms. A Caesar salad.

SM: With milk or no milk?

JM: Always whole milk, and a side of fries. That's it.

SM: Caesar salad with chicken or no?

JM: No.

SM: What kind of fries?

JM: Just good old McDonald's crispy fries.

SM: Yum. And no dessert.

JM: Oh, I do love Tonight Dough by Ben & Jerry's. That is the best Ben & Jerry's flavor. So maybe some ice cream, too, to top it off.

SM: I think about this a lot. I think about how, and would I care that I'm so full?

JM: I know. I ask a lot of people that question, too. Not only do I think about that a lot — what's my death row meal? — but I also ask other people.

SM: It tells you a lot about somebody.

JM: I know, but what does my answer just tell you about me? That I eat like a child?

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.