A mother’s ‘thunder breakfast’ for her picky eater son attracts 900 million views

Truong Le Binh, 41 years old, owner of a clothing store in Ningbo city, is becoming the center of attention of the Chinese online community after her videos of preparing breakfast for her son suddenly became famous, according to SCMP February 14.

The incident began last December, when Le Binh posted a video recording his 16-year-old son’s simple breakfast including a few slices of dry bread, rice cakes and a cup of hot water. Immediately, this content faced a wave of fierce criticism from online users. Many people expressed concern about the nutritional content, even sarcastically calling this “stepmother’s breakfast” because of the somewhat sloppy and superficial preparation.

From a medical perspective, the online community’s concerns are completely well-founded. Breakfast plays a key role in kick-starting your metabolism and providing energy after a long night. According to experts from the Harvard School of Public Health, a healthy breakfast should be based on the “Nutrition Plate” principle, prioritizing protein (eggs, nuts), good fats and unrefined starch to maintain stable blood sugar levels. On the contrary, consuming foods high in sugar and saturated fat early in the day can put pressure on the digestive system, leading to a temporary increase in energy but quickly causing fatigue and increasing the risk of metabolic diseases.

However, instead of applying dry nutritional formulas, Truong Le Binh chose to express her creativity through unique food combinations to meet her son’s preferences. Instead of traditional dishes, she serves “heavy” and strange menus that rarely appear in the early morning such as sour fish soup with candied fenugreek; Grilled meat served with Liu Chau snail vermicelli and coffee. The list of shocking combinations is also expanded with durian eaten with beef hot pot, strawberries with xiao long bao or chicken feet stewed with coke. These meals were quickly dubbed “thunder breakfast” by the online community, a term praising the mother’s resourcefulness and quick cooking ability.

The humorous contrast between a mother full of enthusiasm for unique dishes and her son who is still sleepy but calmly enjoying them has attracted the attention of many netizens. This excitement has helped her videos reach more than 900 million views and attract nearly 1.3 million followers.

The attraction from the videos has turned watching Le Binh’s family’s breakfast into a daily habit for fans. Many people do not hesitate to send messages urging her or ask about her daily menu. In response to doubts about the authenticity of the scenes and that she was staging them to attract attention, Le Binh affirmed that the videos were all natural family activities, and confided that the pressure to prepare breakfast is now “heavier than going to work”.

Share with the newspaper Jimu NewsLe Binh said that because her son had to eat breakfast at 6 a.m. to get to school on time, she always had to wake up at 5 a.m., some days at 4 a.m., with help from her husband, to prepare meals. “My son doesn’t like traditional Chinese breakfast dishes like dumplings, dumplings or noodles. He especially likes meat dishes and sweets,” she confided.

Her son’s picky eating habits are the driving force that made Le Binh break all the norms of traditional breakfasts. With encouragement from the online community, she was even more inspired to push her creativity to a new level. She shared: “Now, I put all my energy into my child’s breakfast. Seeing my child eat deliciously, I feel more energized.”

However, what touched this mother the most were the compliments for the bond between family members. Truong Le Binh plans to continue experimenting with unique menus to accompany her children throughout their school years. “Fame may fade over time, but a mother’s love behind ‘thunder breakfasts’ will always remain,” she said.

Currently, Le Binh is considered a symbol of the “abstract parents” trend in China, a term that refers to a “strange” parenting style that seems counterintuitive and lacks logic, but is extremely humorous and inspiring. Faced with concerns about her child’s health when he eats too many high-energy foods, Le Binh affirmed that her son is very conscious of weight control. Instead of creating pressure, she and her husband cherish the time spent together and bring valuable life experiences to their child, while the son himself also expressed his eagerness to look forward to his mother’s breakfast every day.