HGTV UK/YouTube Erin and Ben Napier
HGTV stars and married couple Ben and Erin Napier have been enjoying their Summer vacation. The “Home Town” hosts recently returned to their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi after taking their two daughters, Helen (5) and Mae (2), on a family vacation to Maine.
In an August 10 Instagram post, Ben shared a few tips that helped he and Erin get their daughters through their flight back to Mississippi, writing in his caption, “Shout out to painters tape, [Wilbur’s of Maine] Gummi lobstahs, Wesley from the seat in front of us, Helen for being an awesome traveler, and stuffed animals for helping us get an overtired 2 yr old Mae home from vacation. Dear [Delta] flight crew, I am terribly sorry for the potato chips and granola scattered in our seats.”
Erin Napier Explains Why They Brought Painter’s Tape on Their Flight
Some of Ben and Erin’s followers were confused about how painter’s tape could help the Napier children get through the flight, with one user writing, “I thought you tape their mouths shut. I don’t have kids, I don’t know,” in the comment section of Ben’s post, but Erin was able to clear up the confusion.
After one user addressed her directly by commenting, “Erin, I am intrigued… what magic do you perform with the painter’s tape?” Erin responded to share that painter’s tape offered a variety of ways to occupy Mae’s time as she played with it, writing, “it’s really a roll of stickers for arms and seats and oceans on blank pages and stained glass on the windows — the best toy for a busy toddler.”
Other users with young children were delighted to see the painter’s tape in Ben’s caption and one of his photos, as they had discovered the hack for themselves as well.
“My daughter used painters tape in July traveling with her 1 year old” one user wrote.
Another user in the comments section directed any confused followers to blogger Kelsey Pomeroy, who has a May 30 TikTok video about blue painter’s tape, where she calls it a “miracle travel with kids item”. Pomeroy’s video highlights even more uses for painter’s tape, including labeling luggage, covering outlets or sharp corners to protect toddlers from them, and removing lint from clothing.
Ben & Erin Napier Are Hard at Work on Their OSPREY Kids Initiative
Although they are taking some family time this Summer, Ben and Erin have been working hard on their new initiative, OSPREY (“Old School Parents Raising Engaged Youth”), in which they are seeking to build a community over the common bond of restricting their children from social media through high school graduation so that they “gain access to deeper engagement with their families, interests and self assurance”.
The goal of OSPREY is to present a united front with other parents so that children don’t feel that all of their peers are on social media and they are missing out. As Erin said in an August 1 panel she and Ben held at their alma mater Ole Miss, “We wanted OSPREY to feel set apart in a way that feels like summer camp. Not set apart in a way that feels like ‘You’re the weird one. You’re the only one that doesn’t have it.'”
Erin shared a clip of this panel discussion, as well as a video from her friend and actress Drew Barrymore giving a testimonial for OSPREY, in an August 11 Instagram post.
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