No matter how your life was when you were single, the minute you become a parent, you realize that establishing routines just makes things easier. Whether it is putting your kids to bed at a particular time, doing laundry every single day, or whether you make lunches at night or in the morning, every family finds things that work well for them. And thanks to social media, we are all privy to many more family routines than ever before.
When you share details about your life on social media, you open yourself up to opinions, which can be a mix of praise and criticism. But when it comes to online trolls, the critics appear to yell the loudest. Sharon Johnson, known as @sharon.a.life on TikTok, shared part of her lifestyle routine in a recent video that racked up 9.1 million views and lots of opinions, particularly about her six kids' bathing schedule. And let's say it's a lot to take in.
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Johnson is the head of a big family.
As a mom of six, it is important for her family to have routines. She explained in her February 2 video that tech time includes an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which includes signing out the laptop so she knows who is responsible for any accidents. She also touched on allowances and chores, but when she announced that bath days are only twice a week, people got hot.
"How often are they allowed to brush their teeth? Once a week?" one person asked.
Another clapped back that was a dumb comment, but a supporter wrote, " Nope it's valid because they already bearly shower so….."
The kids are allowed to take more showers if they need to.
Johnson clarified that they can add another shower or bath if needed, but those are the required days. Even so, people don't seem to like her parenting style.
"I just think it's odd, quite frankly, that people care so deeply about other people's bathing habits, especially a complete stranger on the internet," Johnson told the New York Post.
But some people did judge it and called the living conditions an "institution" and not a home.
"as someone who grew up like this, I can say with confidence that it is the worst childhood ever," one person wrote.
Others questioned her.
"I'm a mom of 6. From 1-18 … this is wild. Glad it works for you but what works for the kids?" someone else commented.
Some people are on the same page, though.
For some commenters, schedule and routine are very important, and they love Johnson’s ideas.
One person wrote, "I'm all about this. Having a schedule for everything, kids thrive on. No sleepovers (they will understand when they are older.) safety first."
Another commenter agreed, writing, "Nothing wrong with consistency and boundaries, I think a lot of the commenters are spoiled kids or parents whose kids run their homes!"
The bathing comment inspired a whole series of videos.
Johnson created a six-post series called Bath Gate, where she attempted damage control and to try to quell some of the comments. First, she explained that her family is in Utah, where the environment is very dry and daily showers aren't good for their sensitive skin. "If they showered every single day, their skin would be so incredibly raw," she said.
At least one person refuted that. "My daughter has extremely sensitive skin and eczema. her dermatologist told us to bathe her everyday and not dry her fully then slather her in cream," the person commented.
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Johnson isn't backing down.
Even though she received significant hate for her stance on daily showers, Johnson isn't rattled. In another follow-up video, she said people need to understand what "as needed" means and how to be kind, but because they want to fight and get angry, it is working to her benefit.
The views on the videos are "skyrocketing," and Johnson intends to donate the proceeds to Doctors Without Borders.
She told her followers to "Go outside, look up at the sky, it's a big beautiful world full of big beautiful different people who all live in different ways, and I'm so happy for that."
One commentator loved the message. "you're awesome, thank you so much. may the vending machines always drop two snacks for you when you're trying to buy one ," the person wrote.
