Jessica Stilwell of Calgary got tired of cleaning up after her messy children. She has 3 girls, 12 years old twins and a 10 year old. (l-r: Quinn, Peyton and Olivia pictured below) As with many kids that age, they “live” in the basement, occasionally surfacing for food or school. Jessica lovingly calls them her “basement trolls”.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

One day last week, she decided she wouldn't do it anymore. She staged a strike. For six days she let it pile up. Milk solidified in the glass. For days the house smelled like a tub of garlic dip left open on a table. The family dog, a Great Dane licked up what he could, but for that time, no one else tidied up at all. When the girls failed to clean their lunch boxes Jessica and her husband packed their school lunches in plastic “dog pooh” bags in an attempt to get their attention or shame them into cleaning up after themselves.

It took about 6 days. Stilwell is a self-proclaimed neat freak and as a fellow neatnik I can feel the pain she must have been going through to have a house in disarray. Eventually, after begging mom to clean failed, the girls turned on each other, arguing about whose mess was whose, but clean up they did.

What also happened during this time is that Jessica Stilwell began Facebook posts and then a blog about her “work stoppage.” The London Daily Telegraph picked up her story and it caught the attention of moms and dads worldwide, many lauding her efforts. The Today show called, as did Katie Couric and Ellen DeGeneres.

Sunday Stillwell wrote on her blog, “I have great kids, but as I rush around everyday working with other parents and other families, I realized I was doing my own children a disservice. I was setting them up for failure. I fear we are raising a generation of young people whose attitudes will be, “What are you going to do for me?””

Most are saying “well done” although others are questioning the effectiveness of the strike tactic. I'm sure many have threatened it, but she actually did it? What do you think? LEAVE COMMENTS.

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