On Strike

It's official. I'm on strike - at home, not at work. I've had enough, and it's time I did something about it.

I seem to have become my daughter's servant. I pick-up, wash and iron her clothes, I cook her meals, I drive her and her friends here, there and everywhere, I give her pocket money.

What does she do in return? Nothing.

Take yesterday for example. She had a guitar exam. I re-arranged my work schedule so I could take her there. I made sure her school knew she wouldn't be in until the afternoon. I took her to the exam, bought her lunch in Pizza Hut afterwards, and then took her to school. After school I got a text from her asking if she could go to the nearby shopping centre with her friend. I said yes. This also meant I had to drive down there later to pick her up.

I inconvenienced myself for her benefit. I put her first.

When we got home at about 6pm, I asked her to get her homework done, to get her school bag and uniform ready for tomorrow, and to have a shower BEFORE settling down and relaxing for the evening. Her response was to tell me to shut up and to stop nagging; that she would do things in her own time. She went up to the study and sat in front of facebook chatting to her friends.

I carried on working at my laptop on the dining room table.

At 10.30pm, 4.5 hours later, she was still on facebook! I told her to go an have a shower. Our shower is in my en-suite. I was about to go to bed and did not want my daughter traipsing through my bedroom once I was in bed. She again told me to shut up and to stop nagging. I told her that once I went to bed, the shower would be out of bounds. She stomped upstairs, claiming that she was already going to go and have a shower.

Half an hour later I went upstairs to go to bed. She was in the study, on facebook again. She had not had a shower. So I told her that she'd have to go without. Of course she argued the point. I went to bed and jammed the door shut. She went without a shower.

This is how my daughter is most of the time. She expects me to put myself out for her, but does nothing for me. She argues every point.

Well I've had enough. From now on, I'm doing nothing for her. I'll not pick up her clothes, wash her clothes, iron her clothes, or transport her or her friends anywhere. Not unless there's something in it for me, or I see a marked improvement in her behaviour. She's not a 5 year old any more, so I expect her not to behave like one.