A Mom Shared Her 'Weird' Parenting Rules On TikTok & People Are 'Suddenly Very Thankful'
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All parents have different sets of rules for their children, but some can seem totally bizarre if you're not used to them.
One mom decided to hop on TikTok and share the four “weird rules” she and her partner have for their six children, and people are struggling to wrap their heads around some of the items on her list.
Since posting her TikTok video about her parenting rules, Sharon Johnson’s video has already reached over 1.4 million views.
The video shows Johnson dancing to the chicken song while captions of the four rules pop up on the screen.
Her first rule says, “no playing with friends on Sunday.”
The second rule on the list is that her children need to participate in “2 years of piano classes minimum.”
@sharon.a.life Being a parent is weird. Never thought I’d be a “no singing” rule. 😂 #houserules #bigfamilylife #familylife #familyrules #momlife #weirdrules #momsoftiktok #motherhood #parentsoftiktok #millenialparent #familylife #kidsoftiktok #momrules
The next rule: “no homework until you’re in junior high.”
And the last rule on her list is “no singing at the dinner table.”
People in the comments section had plenty of questions about the list, especially the "no homework" and "no singing" parts.
One person in the comment section asked, “What is the reason for No singing??? I’m curious?”
Another user wrote, “suddenly I’m very thankful for my mom,” followed by the skull emoji.
Eventually, Johnson responded to some of the comments and even made follow-up videos clarifying the reasoning behind her rules.
“I will always find it really weird to force kids to learn something even if they have no interest in it,” read one of the comments under the video. Johnson justified her rule and responded to the comment by saying, “It’s like math or reading. It’s a life skill that will serve them in one way or another down the line.”
“Why piano, and if they want to can they choose to learn a different instrument instead?” asked another commenter, to which Johnson made a follow-up video explaining the rule in better detail.
“The reason why piano and not just whatever they want, that’s a practicality issue,” Johnson explained in her follow-up video. "We live on a very tight budget. We already have a piano; we already have a piano teacher; and piano teachers usually charge less than instruments.”
@sharon.a.life Replying to @pauline.anders
“Piano also teaches the basics, so after two years, they can choose to do something totally different and at that point since they’ve already learned how to practice regularly…I’m willing to invest in a different instrument.”
Another user wrote that they found the first rule “shocking,” to which Johnson replied saying, “It’s family day! We have a Giant brunch and go do something epic as a family.”
“No homework until junior high is going to be a struggle if they don't know what homework is.. homework prepares you for college,” said another user. Johnson responded by writing back, “studies show that homework in grade school helps kids in no way.”
One person asked, “how do you get away with no homework?”
Johnson made another follow-up video to explain that “kids in elementary school do not have to do homework.”
@sharon.a.life Replying to @mom_brand #homeworkhacks #momlife #momknowsbest #kidseducation
“You just call or email your teacher, and you just say ‘hey my kid isn’t going to be doing routinely given homework.' Why? Because studies show that routinely given homework is not beneficial for kids in elementary school,” Johnson says in her video.
She explained that family time, spending time outside and playing is really important at that age and should be prioritized.
Time will tell if the rules work out!
