A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across a quote the internet has attributed to actress Julianne Moore. She said: āItās not difficult to take care of a child; itās difficult to do anything else while taking care of a child.ā I read that and nodded in deep understanding. Learning that the things you used to do with ease are now a bit more difficult or you donāt have the energy to do them is a huge adjustment.
But the kids arenāt going anywhere. And unless you hire someone, neither are the chores. Since the beginning of time, moms have had to get creative, finding ways to occupy their children while they get some things done. One mom shared what she thought was an acceptable parenting hack. But, the reactions on TikTok have been mixed.
One mom shared a hack she herself saw on TikTok.
Gabrielle Dunn, a mother of two, shared that in order to check some items off of her to-do list, she placed her daughters in an open cardboard box. She gave them some crayons and let them entertain themselves. In the video, we watch as she vacuums, completely uninterrupted by her children. The two girls seem completely uninterested in their motherās activity.
The original creator said she got 30 minutes of cleaning done.
Her daughters looked happy and safe, and she had the complete freedom to move around and could still keep an eye on them at the same time. Dunn called the hack that she got from fellow TikToker, @abbyfranco6, āpure genius.ā Franco said she prefers to work smarter, not harder and this little trick got her 30 minutes of uninterrupted cleaning time.
There were some naysayers.
Dunn was surprised to find that her children hadnāt broken the box yet. Many of the commenters on Dunnās post agreed with her. In fact, one woman asked if there were a husband-sized box she could use. But there were also naysayers.
āImagine not wanting to hang out with your kids,ā one user wrote.
āWhen they get bored and break out and use those crayons on the walls just remember it was your fault,ā another one said.
Someone even asked if the children had a bedroom to play in. Parents, especially mothers, cannot catch a break online. The mom-shamers will always find something.
As a former box kid, I can vouch for this hack.
Personally, I remember my dad bringing home refrigerator boxes when my sister and I were younger. We colored and decorated them to make an entire playhouse. Physically creating that make-believe world inspired me to write a whole story about a land made of chocolate. It was my first short story.
Today, youāre reading my words as a writer, and my sister is a graphic designer. I know for the fact that time my sister and I spent playing together shaped who we became. And, Iām sure my parents were happy for the break as well. A true win-win.
