'Baby Genius,' 4, Goes Viral After Impressing Family with Special Skill (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Alyssa and Joseph Ciccotto.Photo:Alyssa Ciccotto

Alyssa Ciccotto

This kid has eyes on the back of his head!

Alyssa Ciccotto went viral onTikTokfor sharing a video of her 4-year-old son, Joseph, who completed a social media challenge to near perfection during Christmas Eve dinner that ended in jaw-dropping reactions from his family and the Internet combined.

Alyssa and Joseph Ciccotto.Jacquelyn Ciccotto

Jacquelyn Ciccotto

In total, Joseph named 14 out of the 15 people that simply said “Hi Joseph” behind him, without looking. The video was posted on TikTok on Dec. 24 and has since racked up 34.9 million views to date and counting.

The proud mom admits that the challenge wasn’t easy, as many of the family and friends who attended the Christmas Eve gathering attempted the game themselves with different results. “Everybody wanted to try after him,” she makes known.

“Everyone’s like, ‘Okay, now I got to try. If he could do it at 4, we got to be able to do it too!’ " Alyssa jokes. “So then my aunt tried and then I tried … When you’re not looking at the person, it’s harder than it seems.”

She makes clear, “He’s the only one that got every single person besides one correct.”

Ciccotto cousins.Alyssa Ciccotto

Alyssa’s cousin Anthony was the one voice Joseph couldn’t guess, noting that he sees him “just as often” as he sees the other family members he guessed correctly. The people in the video included Joseph’s cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

Joseph even guessed people who were “fairly new to the family,” says Alyssa, who doesn’t attribute her son’s accurate guessing abilities to luck. “He is a different type of intelligent,” she says.

“I’m not even saying this because he’s my son. I don’t even mean to be biased. I’m not even that brilliant,” Alyssa jokes. “I think he has a photographic memory. He could listen to a song once, and he’s reciting you the lyrics. He watches a movie, and he’s reciting the whole movie to you.”

As seen in the video, Alyssa says she and her relatives are “one big Italian family.” She explains, “We do the holidays together. We’ll do Sunday breakfasts together, Sunday dinners. We all have to be together. We’re very close.”

Alyssa and Joseph Ciccotto.Alyssa Ciccotto

Alyssa says her uninhibited son “is really the only kid in the family,” so “he’s been around adults his whole life.” She shares, “He’s very animated. Everything has a facial expression or a handshake. You could tell he’s Italian. He’s always talking with his hands.”

While her Christmas Eve video accumulated a high number of views, Alyssa says she’s fairly new to posting on TikTok and only started in early November. “I went from 3,500 to almost 90,000 followers,” she says of her overnight viral success.

Now, Alyssa has her sights set on continuing to post videos like OOTDs and more alongside her son, whom she calls her “little best friend.” She adds, “He would be probably devastated if we ever stopped.”

source: people.com