If you’ve scrolled TikTok lately, chances are you’ve seen the viral #CookieChallenge. In this version, a parent gives two cookies to Dad, one cookie to the child, and no cookies to Mom. Mom then drops subtle hints—sometimes exaggerated expressions of sadness or gentle comments—that she doesn’t have a cookie, and watches to see if the child will offer to share.

Cue dramatic music, slow zooms, and parents reacting to their child’s response. It’s all in good fun—or is it?

As a clinical child psychologist who works with Post-Traumatic Parents (PTPs), I’ve watched this trend with growing concern. Not because I think the challenge is inherently evil, or because sharing cookies is bad parenting. But because for trauma survivors who are now raising children, this seemingly silly social experiment can quietly activate deep-rooted fear and self-doubt.

If you’re a PTP, you may already know that one of the ways your trauma "app" protects you is by trying to predict the future. If you can foresee what’s coming, you can prepare. If you can prepare, you won’t be blindsided. And if you’re not blindsided, maybe this time you won’t get hurt. In the trauma recovery world, we call this

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