Fed-up Mom Piles Lazy Daughters’ Things into Trash Bags, Says They Have to Buy Them Back

After repeatedly telling her teenage daughters to keep their room tidy but seeing no results, a mother resorted to a creative method to ensure her words were taken seriously. Interestingly enough, she claimed her plan worked brilliantly. 

Teaching children life lessons is extremely important and can be done differently. Some parents like teaching kids the hard way and might use a stick to let their words sink in. Others can use a carrot, which might appear to be a much more effective method. 

Today, the story we’re sharing with our readers is about a mother whose idea to teach her kids a lesson was out-of-the-box and incredibly astonishing. Please keep reading to discover what she did and whether or not things worked out the way she had wanted. 

Alice Velasquez. | Source: YouTube.com/The Doctors

A MOTHER OF FOUR

Alice Velasquez was a mother of four and lived with her family in Bargersville, Indiana. Managing a household of four youngsters was no easy feat, with two young boys running around the house and two teen girls trying to do things their own way.

Still, Velasquez tried her best to be a good role model to her children. A big part of her job as a mom included emphasizing cleanliness and teaching her kids to keep their rooms tidy. 

However, the Indiana woman said that her teenage daughters, Tahlia and Liliana, gave her a hard time and seemed to ignore her instructions. Velasquez shared her story on the Emmy award-winning daytime talk show, “The Doctors.” She described:

“You tell your kid, ‘Clean your room. Clean your room now. Really really clean your room.’ And what happens? You end up going in there and cleaning it for them.”

TAKING ACTION

The mom-of-four explained that she kept telling her girls to clean the room, but regardless of what she said, she eventually had to do the cleaning herself, which led to her frustration and exhaustion. 

Some hailed her brilliant scheme, while  others criticized her for resorting to such a method.

Then, one day, in 2016, Velasquez was done being ignored and decided to take action. While her teenage daughters were off to school, she went around the house and picked up all their stuff that didn’t seem to be in the right spots. 

AN UNUSUAL IDEA

Velasquez shoved all the items into plastic trash bags and left a note on the children’s door. Then, she took a picture of all the stuff packed up in plastic bags and shared her idea on Facebook. The mother wrote: 

“What do you do when you are DONE telling your teenage daughters to stop letting their room look like homeless people live there? You put everything (YES EVERYTHING) into plastic bags and you sell it back to them for $25 a bag.”

COMPLETELY RANDOM

It turned out that the Bargersville resident had not only collected the children’s items and stuffed them into plastic bags, but per her condition, they could only get their things back by paying her $25 for each bag. But what was the catch? Velasquez’s Facebook post further read:

“The bags were collected as they were found in the room- random! So their $25 could buy a bag of dirty clothes, it could buy a bag of trash or it could buy their soccer gear.”

DID IT WORK?

Velasquez said she placed the items into the bags exactly how she found them, without any organization. That meant that her daughter didn’t know what was inside each bag, and everything, including their clothes, electronics, and athletic gear, was haphazardly distributed. 

Another clause that Velasquez included was that the only way Tahlia and Liliana could earn money and buy their stuff back was by doing house chores. The mother shared that while her teen girls were not entirely impressed with the idea, it worked wonders. 

MIXED VIEWS 

Meanwhile, her Facebook post went viral and garnered over 12,000 shares and mixed views from netizens. Some hailed her brilliant scheme, while others criticized her for resorting to such a method. Velasquez recounted: 

“I never expected it to go viral. I had people contacting me from Japan, from India, from France, from Italy. It was crazy… There were some who were telling me how horrible I was, that I was psychologically damaging my kids.”

CREATIVE OR CRUEL?

The woman noted that some people even accused her of being cruel and threatened to call Child Protective Services. When someone on Facebook asked her whether her girls earned any of their things back, she responded:

“YES! She has, and her super siblings all volunteered for extra chores to help her earn faster too, SO not only was it a lesson for my oldest daughter, but a great family building exercise as well.”

Velasquez said that her two young boys pitched in and helped their older sisters do the chores, and she was delighted to see all her children cooperate. 

Per the experts on “The Doctors,” Velasquez’s method was in no way psychologically damaging and a creative way to handle things. What are your thoughts after reading this story? Would you support such a method for schooling youngsters?

Do you think the mother’s plan was wise? Would you do things differently if you were in her place? Please share your feedback with us, and don’t forget to share this story with your family and friends. 

Anomama