Rhiannon Ingle
One mum has seriously divided opinion after sharing that her six kids only shower 'twice a week'.
Sharon, who goes by the handle @sharon.a.life online, took to TikTok to share what her weekly routine looks like in her home and it seems to have split the internet right down the middle, with some reckoning her rules were totally 'limiting' while others believed they were beyond 'reasonable'.
Sharon began: "I'm a mother to six and here are just a few things we do on our home to make our life a little bit more manageable."
Advert
Sharon explained that 'tech time' is only on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour which sees her kids have to 'check out' the devices they want to use in the allocated time slot just so she could keep tabs on who had them last 'just in case they get lost or broken'.
She continued: "Bath and shower days are Sunday and Wednesday. If you need a bath in between that then absolutely but, otherwise, that's good enough."
Her six children also get an allowance of $1 for every year of how old they are, with Sharon explaining: "This means I don't have to keep track of who I bought what [and] when. I can just be like, 'Okay, do you have any money?'"
The next rule was 'no sleepovers', with the mum adding: "Then I don't have to decide who had a sleepover when, who's house is safe.
"Yes we do late nights, just no sleepovers."
As for chores?
Well, Sharon explained that each child has the responsibility to do 'two chores every single day for an entire year' which eliminates the faff of chore charts and keeping track of who's done what and when.
She revealed: "Kids get really good at their chores, no moaning and complaining."
The mum also pays her older kids to babysit, telling viewers: "Why? Because it's not their job to take care of their siblings."
She went on: "Every kid gets two extracurricular [activities].
"Something like musical or theatre-related and then a sport and this might change as the kids get older but for now, this is all we can handle."
The children also get a mobile phone once they hit age 12.
"We use a rotating dinner schedule every two weeks," Sharon added. "We just have the same thing over and over until we get sick of a meal and decide to come up with a new one."
Alongside this, there is absolutely 'no food allowed outside of the kitchen' and, if anyone wants, there are 'free crafts' available pretty much anytime in the day whenever they want, but they have to stay in the craft area.
"And last but not least, but most importantly, mum leaves the house every Tuesday night to take herself on a little date night," Sharon concluded.
She captioned the post: "This makes me sound really put together and strict but really we’re just always barely keeping our heads above water, and all of this helps with that!"
Thousands of people have since rushed to the comment section to share their thoughts on the matter, with many totally baffled by Sharon's weekly routine.
One TikTok user hit out: "Whole household is ripe on that bathing schedule."
"No sleepovers seems so limiting," penned a second.
"Two showers is crazy, maybe five a week at a push," commented someone else.
Another critic exclaimed: "Sunday and Wednesday only???? For baths ???? WHAT??"
Other people, however, were totally on-board with Sharon's rules, with one TikTok user writing: "I’m sorry am I missing something? Why is everyone complaining about these rules?"
"I am so glad there are others out there who are 'no sleepover' houses," admitted another, while a third offered: "This is such good parenting idk why people are hating."
"All of these sound reasonable to me," echoed a final TikTok user.
Sharon has since responded to the comments about her children's bathing routine, saying in a follow up video: "We live in an incredibly dry climate and all of my kids have really sensitive skin. If they showered every single day, their skin would be so incredibly rough."
She added: "My kids are fine showering two to three days a week. Obviously if they need it more, then they get it more."
What do you make of it?