:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(748x216:750x218):format(webp)/5-year-old-packs-lunch-tout-11524-93419e8a0e3b4d12b6de3773da426bb7.jpg)
For mother of four and TikTok creator Madi Cochrane, packing lunches is a family affair.
Her second-youngest child, Ellie, recently attempted to pack her own lunch the night before school, and as she detailed on TikTok, it was pretty hilarious (but she almost got it right!).
“We had company over that night, so while we had company over, she said, ‘I’m gonna pack my lunch,’ ” Cochrane shares with PEOPLE exclusively. “I didn’t even think anything about it until I went upstairs to get ready for bed, and I saw the lunch box was in the backpack, and the backpack was leaking.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(499x0:501x2):format(webp)/5-year-old-packs-lunch3-11524-5120867bd75c4985aa6de4dfc241a4fa.jpg)
Inside the leaking lunch box was a frozen corn dog (placed in a plastic bag), an orange, a bottle of water, a packet of ketchup (for the corndog, of course), a GoMacro Kids bar, cheese balls, a Great Value chewy granola bar (“She likes to bring these for snack time,” says mom), a Go-Gurt, and lastly, a plastic bag that was originally filled with ice cubes. Unfortunately, the ice cubes had mostly melted by the time Cochrane got to it.
“Bless her heart,” the mom said in the video in between giggles.
Eva Mendes Details How She Packs Her Daughters’ Brown Bag Lunches: ‘One of My Favorite Things’
This isn’t the first time Cochrane has shared Ellie’s custom-packed lunches. In a previous video, Ellie tried to pack herself an entire jar of peanut butter and some slices of bread to have a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. The independent 5-year-old also decided to help her dad pack his lunch once, including a selection of his favorite snacks and a note with five hearts written on a napkin.
“Sometimes her dad will write her little notes, or I’ll write him a little note, so I think she sees that and that’s why she wanted to write him a note on the napkin,” Cochrane explains.
Ellie was born prematurely at just 28 weeks, spending the first 55 days of her life in the NICU.
“Many times, doctors had to bring her back to life because her heart would literally stop beating and nurses would come rushing into the room,” Cochrane recounts.
Because of this, she says doctors told her Ellie would likely be behind developmentally in many areas, which prompted the family to seek occupational therapy for her. This, she says, seems to be part of what inspired Ellie to start packing her own lunches.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(499x0:501x2):format(webp)/5-year-old-packs-lunch2-11524-6fe66d94d50d4f06a0cec1e93ba86aa9.jpg)
“Through occupational therapy, I think that has helped her become a little bit more independent,” Cochrane says.
“As her mom, I was extremely proud of her, even though the ice was everywhere, she tried her best, and that’s what matters most to me,” she continues. “If she wants to pack her own lunch, I’m not gonna tell her no to something that she enjoys doing — and I’ll always check it.”
Jennifer Garner Says She Still Packs Violet’s Lunchbox Every Day: ‘They Don’t Have Much Time to Eat!’
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The response to Ellie’s lunch choices has been astounding, with the most recent video already racking up more than 2.6 million views and 217,000 likes. Cochrane admits she’s considering making a TikTok series following what Ellie packs for herself for lunch.
“She’s right where she needs to be today. And so that’s why, another reason why I really encourage her [to be] independent,” Cochrane continues, “because it just blows us all away.”
