Viral TikTok Breaks Down Why Mama From The Berenstain Bears Was Totally An Almond Mom

When Stan and Jan Berenstain wrote The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food back in 1985, no one had ever heard of an almond mom. Back then, Mama Bear just seemed like she was taking care of her family by getting them to eat healthy food. Now, nearly 40 years later, we know better. Especially after comedian and content creator Rob Anderson broke down the entire book for us and called out Mama Bear for what she really was: a full-on, unapologetic almond mom. Who even brought in a medical professional to help her shame her family. Ah, the ’80s and ’90s.

For the uninitiated, an almond mom is a term that’s been coined in recent months after TikTok creator Tyler Bender spoofed moms who have bought into diet culture and bring their kids into it as well. Not just human moms either. Bears like Mama Bear, too.

This week, Anderson took to TikTok to really offer a deep dive into The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food, a book that proved “Mama Bear had no chill” when she caught her Brother and Sister Bear helping themselves to snacks. “Mama Bear looked at them out of the corner of her eye and was like, ‘Now wait a minute. Are you both fat?’” Anderson says. To double check, Mama Bear proceeds to make her children do a 360-view so she can confirm that yes, indeed, she feels they are fat. “She’s like, ‘Give me these cashews and pepperonis,’ and then she puts them in the freezer.”

Her children aren’t the only ones getting a waistline check from Mama Bear. Poor Papa Bear comes in and splits his pants and Mama Bear is like, “Well, well, well, we’ve got another one.”

Mama Bear proceeds to give her family diet tips like drinking well water and not looking at snacks, but when they run into the family doctor at the supermarket, she decides to try a medical intervention.

“They go to this doctor’s office so they can be shamed in a professional setting,” Anderson says, pointing out that the doctor presents everyone with a photo of Papa Bear in his underwear to show him he’s fat. Then the doctor grabs Papa Bear’s stomach and says, “This is what candy does to ya!” before Mama Bear forces them all to jog home. Not her, though, because she’s “light as a feather,” Anderson adds.

Everyone starts eating healthy and completes a 5K race together and Mama Bear receives an award for “being so skinny,” as Anderson points out. The children snack on carrots and raisins and have forgotten all about their delicious pepperoni and cashews rotting in the freezer.

Mama Bear could well be the original almond mom. Now we know.