TikTok Star ‘Coop on a Stoop’ Has Followers Emotional as He Heads to First Day of School

Toddler Cooper and his dad Chris O’Brien blew up for their videos of the pair’s morning routine, which often featured them sitting on a curb near their home

NEED TO KNOW

• Cooper, known as “Coop on a Stoop,” gained viral fame for morning curbside routines with his dad, and now he’s off to school
• His parents, Chris and Hailey O’Brien, shared emotional TikToks celebrating his first day of school
• Millions have followed Cooper and Chris’ sweet father-son moments on the social media platform

Viral TikTok toddler Cooper, known to his family’s TikTok followers as “Coop on a Stoop,” is off to school!

Cooper, who went viral last year with his dad, Chris O’Brien, for videos documenting their morning routine sitting on the curb outside their house, officially started his first day of school; his parents shared in separate, emotional TikToks on their accounts on Sept. 10.

In one post from his dad on TikTok, Chris reflected on how quickly the beloved, young internet personality had grown up.

“One day they’re struggling to stumble out of this/door without falling to watch the cars. Then before you know it, they’re walking through the same door. Eager for their first day of school,” he wrote over a video of Cooper excitedly prancing out the door with his backpack on.

“Go on, little man! Make all the friends and have all the fun that you can. When the day’s done, we’ll be here 🥹,” wrote Chris in the caption, referring to the simple sign-off line he came to incorporate into the end of his videos with Cooper as they watched cars go by at the end of their driveway.

“Dear world, please be kind to him,” wrote Cooper’s mom, Hailey, in a TikTok posted to her own page. “My heart living outside of my body. Love seeing you grow, my sweet boy.”

Internet users came to love watching the father-son duo, who each morning settled down on the curb outside their home to watch vehicles pass by. Chris often used the time to point things out — “That’s a blue truck, that’s a green van, that’s a yellow bus” — turning it into a playful way to connect with his 1½-year-old son.

Eventually, Chris shared their morning ritual on social media. He told PEOPLE in September 2025 that he had been posting about his photography side business, but thought this sweet father-son moment was worth capturing. When he uploaded a short clip of Cooper sitting on their driveway curb, he never expected what happened next.

“I figured, well, I’m out here every single morning anyway, so maybe I’ll just start posting as part of the routine,” Chris told PEOPLE at the time.

But what began as a simple pastime quickly grew into a viral phenomenon. Within weeks, millions of people were tuning in daily to watch “Coop on the Stoop,” as Cooper plopped down on the family’s curb, rain or shine. “I didn’t even come up with the name — someone commented it, and it just kind of organically became what it is now,” Chris said.

Part of the charm, Chris told PEOPLE, lived in its simplicity. Viewers even invented their own “stoop code”: a dry curb signals a good day, while a wet one means bad.

“My wife always says the people in the comments are the funniest in the world,” Chris added with a laugh. “But in reality, it’s just my son. Everything is one take — I pull out my phone, film for a second, and then put it away so I can be with him. If he sits on the curb, that’s what people see. If he doesn’t, that’s what they get. It’s never a performance.”

The pair also recently welcomed Coop’s younger brother Briggs, announcing the news on TikTok on Nov. 9, 2025. Fans were over the moon to hear that Hailey, Chris’s wife and Cooper’s mom, had given birth to a “Coop Dupe,” as some in the comments were quick to affectionately dub the newborn baby boy.

In a video posted to Chris’s TikTok page, @obrienbois, Chris announced the news, showing Cooper snuggled up with his mom and new brother in a hospital bed.

“It’s Sunday, and the stoop just got a little busier,” Chris said in the video.

Read the full article here