DADADEL
An Indiana mom, fed up with her girls’ messy room, devised what she believed was the perfect punishment. Unfortunately, not everyone agreed, leading to some calling CPS.
Alice Velásquez, a caring Indiana mom, grew increasingly frustrated with her children’s refusal to clean up after themselves. Despite repeated reminders, her teenage daughters continued to leave their room in disarray. Reaching her breaking point, Alice decided it was time to discipline the girls for their messy room.
Determined to teach her daughters a lasting lesson and put an end to the issue, Alice devised a drastic punishment. The severity of her approach, intended to make a strong impression, alarmed some people. After she posted pictures of the punishment on Facebook, concerned citizens reported her to Child Protective Services (CPS), believing she had gone too far.
An Indiana mom, Alice, shared her frustration on social media, asking, “What do you do when you are DONE telling your teenage daughters to stop letting their room look like homeless people live there?” She then described her unique solution to the problem, which involved tidying up the room herself in a way her girls wouldn’t like.
Alice revealed her plan: “You put everything (YES EVERYTHING) into plastic bags. You sell it back to them for $25 a bag (and they have to earn the money doing chores)” Alice posted several photos showing her daughters’ belongings packed into over a dozen trash bags. But the twist didn’t end there; what Alice called “the best part” added an ingenious catch to the buy-back scheme.
“The bags were collected as they were found in the room — random! So their $25 could buy a bag of dirty clothes, it could buy a bag of trash or it could buy their soccer gear,” Alice explained, closing with the hashtag “#MayTheOddsBeEverInYourFavor.” Predictably, the post quickly went viral, with sympathetic parents applauding Alice’s “tough love” approach, reminiscent of their upbringing.
Not everyone embraced the fed-up mom’s creativity, though. Some criticized her, saying she went “too far.” One social media user even messaged the Indiana mom, claiming to have reported her to the authorities over the punishment. “I reported you to a social worker,” Lee Haze wrote. “Your neglect towards an obvious adolescent is child abuse,” Haze alleged, not stopping there.
The incensed Facebook user cautioned against airing personal grievances online, hinting at potential legal repercussions. Threatening a home investigation in Indiana, the user, Haze, provoked further controversy. However, the resolute mother, undeterred by criticism or threats, responded firmly.
“FIRST OF ALL, MY PARENTING CHOICES ARE JUST THAT, MINE!! None of you nasty people know me or my children or a single thing about our situation,” Alice retorted fiercely in a subsequent post, condemning those who criticized her and threatened intervention. Defending herself against online scrutiny, Alice refuted claims of abuse and offered insight into her children’s actual living conditions.
“My children are all loved, treasured, very well cared for, social, active in band, choir, church youth group, soccer, track, swimming, scouts, study buddies, amongst many other family activities,” Alice wrote. “So before you JUDGE ME, come spend a day with children who have been raised with respect, who have chores and responsibilities, and who have parents that take an ACTIVE role in parenting and then form your own INFORMED OPINION!”
Following the initial post, the Indiana mom mentioned that her daughters swiftly “redeemed” all of their belongings. This is the crux of the matter—they grasped a lesson in responsibility and accountability. The reality is, that failing to heed results in consequences, a lesson often overlooked in modern child-rearing. Regrettably, mothers like Alice are uncommon, and when one does emerge, strangers are quick to jump to unsavory conclusions. Discipline should never be mistaken for child abuse; conversely, its absence should be cause for concern.
