6 things this mom quit doing for her kids when she went on ‘strike’

It’s been said that being a mom is the hardest job in the world. After all, you have to work 24/7, and you get zero days off…not even sick days. Although she says she loves being a mom, Dr. Catherine Pearlman, founder of The Family Coach, decided to go on “strike,“—as she chronicled in a blog post on TODAY’s parenting site.

Sick of being a maid to her children, Pearlman decided she would no longer do the following tasks as part of her strike.

1. Prep clothes for the laundry

So much a mom does is taken for granted. As Pearlman put it, “My kids have no idea that I’ve been reversing their shirts and pants for 4,384 consecutive days.” If you’re getting clean laundry delivered to your bedroom, the least you can do is reverse it yourself, right? In Pearlman’s case, hopefully her kids have learned to reverse their own socks and shirts now because she’s no longer doing it!

2. Empty their leftover lunch

A lot more goes into making lunches than meets the eye. There’s the meal-planning, the grocery shopping and then the actual making of the lunch. By the time the lunches have been eaten, Pearlman says her work is done! It’s now up to her kids to make sure she has an empty, clean lunch box to work with at the start of each new day.

3. Preparing them for the day’s weather

Telling your child they should bring a jacket when they insist that they’re “fine, mom!” can be like trying to put a round peg in square hole. Pearlman says forget it! After a day spent freezing, your kids will think better of it next time.

4. Putting dirty clothes in the hamper

Again, if you’re getting free laundry service, can you at least get the process started? If you’re having trouble enforcing this one, your kids will probably get the hint once they run out of clean clothes. Pearlman writes “There’s a 75 percent chance my kids could not identify their laundry baskets in a police lineup,” but we’re guessing that’s all about to change!

5. Remind them to brush their hair

Sick of de-tangling her daughter’s hair after sub-par brushing, Pearlman decided she would no longer nag her child about this basic hygiene task. “Hello Edward Scissor Hands. I’ll have to cut it off. That’ll show her,” Pearlman writes.

6. Bring their dirty dishes to the sink

If you’ve already done the grocery shopping, prepared the meal and set the table, the least your kids can do is clear the dishes when they’re done eating, right? After all, they’re not at a restaurant. If you use non-breakable plates, you can start teaching your kids this habit pretty early on.

Head over to the TODAY website to read about two other things Pearlman stopped doing for her kids. It just may inspire you to start asking more of your own kids at home.

So what do you think? Would your household fall apart if you went on strike, or would your kids figure it out eventually?