A Japanese couple has come up with a novel way to trick their toddler into staying calm when his mother is not there, and it's fair to say it's genius.
The father took to Twitter to explain that their one-year-old cries as soon as his mother is out of sight - which is not a good time for anyone, especially the neighbours.
So he decided to create a series of life-sized cutouts to soothe the boy when his mother needed to leave the room.
Twitter user 'Sato_nezi' shared images of the hilarious result on Twitter, where they quickly went viral.
The cutouts are placed just out of reach of the boisterous toddler - so he can't figure out they don't feel like mum - but close enough for him to be comforted.
If you're worried that the baby was supervised solely by the life-sized images, don't be.
The boy's father told Metro he was always nearby, and it just meant his wife could pop in and out every 20 minutes.
It might be teaching the boy some clingy habits, but for now, it means mum can have a little me-time. And as all mothers know - that's priceless.
