Like most families, each of Johnson’s kids have two age-appropriate chores.
“Everybody has two chores, and you do those two chores every single day for an entire year. No chore charts to keep track of. Kids get really good at their chores. There’s no moaning and complaining when I say, ‘Hey, do your chore.’ And they’re not like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that chore because it’s just the same chore.’ I mean, they groan a little bit, but not as much.”
Johnson also says that she pays her older kids to babysit their siblings because “it’s not their job to take care of their siblings.”
In an effort to maintain order and prevent extracurriculars from single-handedly taking over their lives, Johnson shares her solution:
“Every kid gets two extracurriculars, something like musical or theater-related, and then a sport. And this might change as the kids get older, but for now, this is all we can handle,” she says.
Johnson’s other rules include no cellphones until kids are 12 years old and no food allowed outside the kitchen. To keep life simple, dinners are on a two-week meal plan rotation, kids are free to work on a craft anytime they’d like, and mom leaves the house every Tuesday night to take herself out for some self-care time.
In her Feb. 1 TikTok, Johnson wrote, “This makes me sound really put together and strict but really we’re just always barely keeping our heads above water, and all of this helps with that!”
While Johnson’s comment section is loaded with soft parents and loud opinions, loads of other users were quick to defend the mom and her intentionality.
“Guys I am not trying to be problematic but how many ppl commenting are actually parents? Bc I am 100% okay with all of these rules?” one user wrote.
“As an eldest sister who spent a lot of time babysitting for no compensation, THANK YOU for paying them to babysit!,” another said.
“Nothing wrong with consistency and boundaries, I think a lot of the commenters are spoiled kids or parents whose kids run their homes!” another wrote.
The now-viral video has led to Johnson’s creation of a series of follow-up videos she’s affectionately calling “Bath-gate 2024.”
@sharon.a.life Replying to @Sharon.a.life ♬ original sound – Sharon.a.life
Whether you’re on board with all of Johnson’s household rules or not, one thing all of us can get behind is that every mama needs to do what works for them. Some may find Johnson’s rules strict while others can identify with them, and at the end of the day, all that matters is that she’s a mother of six balancing life as best as she can.
