This just in – An Ocala, FLorida mom got fed up with the behavior of her teen-aged kids, so she went on strike:
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According to a charging affidavit, Dean said the children needed to start cleaning up and stop fighting and that she had no control over them. Dean also said she was fed up with being run over in her own home and having no privacy, according to the affidavit.
Dean told a DCF official that she decided to “go on strike” because no one would help with her children, saying the police and courts would do nothing to help her.
What are your thoughts? The charges of child neglect (her kids are 17, 16, 14, and 13 years-old) were dropped. Do you agree? Have you ever gotten to a point where going on strike seemed a reasonable option?
6 responses so far ↓
Jen_nifer // Mar 13, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I’m no where near a strike now with just a toddler, but around the time I was 11 or 12 my mother went on strike.
She stopped making meals and cleaning. I was happy living on cereal and Alphaghetti. I believe it was over without any fanfare in less than a week as the mess got to her and not too us.
I believe it came out of frustration after she went back to work and was still trying to run a household after 10 years as a SAHM.
AmyL // Mar 13, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I’ve gotten frustrated, but no. Haven’t thought about going on strike; at least not to that extent. I don’t know enough to say whether charges should have been dropped or not. Clearly officials didn’t think they had enough of a case.
I hope that teaching the kids responsibility early enough will help and we won’t get to that level of frustration. That’s my theory at this point. Ask me how it turned out in 8 years lol.
Carl // Mar 14, 2008 at 6:25 am
It seems like there’s a lot of grey area between on-strike and neglect. I don’t know the specifics of the case, but I can think of lots of things that I’d stop doing if I was on-strike, and another list of things that would continue to happen.
Jen_nifer // Mar 14, 2008 at 7:25 am
AmyL - You’ve got it spot on. Got to teach the kids responsibility early on. My Mom usually found it easier just to get things done herself (such as dinner) than to take the time to teach us kids how to do it. It must have been a hard switch from full time SAHM to a working Mom.
Debbie // Mar 19, 2008 at 7:31 am
I think every day about what I ought to be teaching my kids now, while they’re 5 and 4, so that I don’t want to go on strike when they’re ten years older.
Sharon // May 16, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Wow. I’m more stunned that this woman seemed to lose such a grip on her life, her home, and that of her children than her being charged with being on strike.
My dad once said “Intimidate kids when they’re young” and I knew what he meant. You have to build that control when they are little through a firm, yet forgiving hand.
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