Why this mum wore a T-rex costume to school drop-off

Some parents will go to any lengths to teach their kids life lessons. And that's apparently what US mum Leslie Eggenberger was doing when she dropped her son Max at school wearing a T-rex costume recently.

The mum of two was captured by a passer-by in a video recently which garnered her worldwide attention.

The reason for Leslie's costume? She says she wants to send an important message to her sons Max and Jacob.

"I want them to be uniquely themselves and never question what they do because of what people think," she told WSVN News.

Some parents would think that leading by example – being uniquely themselves and not being bothered by what others thing – would be enough. But not Leslie.

And let's not worry about the fact that dressing up as a T-rex is the opposite of being yourself. It's being a T-rex.

But Leslie's heart seems to be in the right place.

"I try to do things like that with them all the time, but I guess this one is more extreme, and it got a lot of attention. [Max] was so surprised to see that so many people had watched the video. He started jumping up and down saying, 'I'm famous, I'm famous!'"

Leslie hopes her antics will inspire other parents too.

"I hope a lot of people maybe show it to their kids and just do things like that with their kids because this is also what our kids are going to remember, you know, these silly memories that we make together," she said.

I'm already so embarrassing to my 6-year-old son that I'm not allowed to accompany him through the school gates. I'm lucky if he lets me get within two blocks before he attaches himself to a swarm of uniformed kids and dismisses me with a wave. I'm forbidden from kissing, hugging and touching him – and I'm pretty sure turning up in a dinosaur costume wouldn't endear me to him either.

Perhaps I should try it with my high-school daughter ...