Being a single mom is a lot of work, so it’s not entirely unreasonable to ask your kids to step in a bit if they are old enough. After all, learning to do chores and help maintain your space is also an important part of growing up, a skill that comes in handy when you are living on your own. But at the same time, even a teen still isn’t an adult, with adult responsibilities.
A woman asked if she was wrong for telling her teen daughter to keep up with her chores even though she was recently distraught by a medical diagnosis. We reached out to the woman who made the post via private message and will update the article when she gets back to us.
Having both pets and kids can be a lot of work
Image credits: Zinkevych_D / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)
But one single mom ended up in conflict with her teenage daughter after being more strict about her chores
Image credits: varyapigu / Envato Elements (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Shot_Neck_1754
Image credits: Kateryna Hliznitsova / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
A type 1 diabetes diagnosis comes with a lot of lifestyle changes
For those who are unaware, type 1 diabetes is generally more common among children and adolescents. Symptoms include high blood sugar and frequent urination. However, generally, there are more issues, including blurred vision and skin infections, all of which make it a pretty hard condition to deal with, particularly for children.
Normally, type 1 diabetes is managed through an injection or an insulin pump, often multiple times a day. To make it worse, the dosage can change, based on food intake, blood glucose levels, and physical activity. So now the child has to keep track of all these things throughout the day while still trying to go about their daily activities.
It’s no wonder that the adjustment period can be difficult and stressful. The daughter is already suffering from the symptoms of the condition, and has to now manage her own injections, which include figuring out the right dosage, all while being asked to keep up with a bunch of household tasks.
While the mom’s position is perhaps understandable, after all, household tasks need to get done, it’s important that she is more understanding. Her daughter now needs to keep track of what she eats for the rest of her life and she has to always be aware of her insulin supply. There is evidence that there is a very real increase in kid’s stress levels as a result.
Image credits: Kaboompics.com / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The mom missed a crucial opportunity to be there for her daughter
From the mom’s language, it does seem like she doesn’t quite grasp the stress her daughter is under and has not made adequate plans to help her ease into her new lifestyle. This is important, because it’s just not as simple as her taking some medication, she needs a lot of support early in the process. No health change of this magnitude is an easy adjustment.
This isn’t to say the mom doesn’t have a lot to do herself, with pets and other kids, but getting her oldest daughter back on her feet should have been the priority. Teens are quick to learn and are resilient, but they still need support, particularly with something as scary as a major medical diagnosis. This is a long term issue that needs to be managed and supported.
Instead, making threats and demands only aggravates her stress and makes her daughter feel like she doesn’t have a friend or ally at home at a time when she really needs it. This is perhaps why the commenters had very mixed feelings about this story, with the vast majority siding against the mom.
Many people thought the mom was too harsh
A few thought both of them needed to work it out
Some commenters saw the mom's side of things
