Toronto Star
LONDON, ONT. (Sep 8, 2006)
"I talked to them, I yelled at them, I cried. But ultimately I walked out," says Roxanne Toussaint, a single mother of three who has gone "on strike" to protest her kids' lax attitude toward chores.
It is especially ironic for a mother who works part-time with a cleaning service.
Her kids eat all the food at meal time, refuse to help around the house and leave their bedrooms in a mess.
So Toussaint pitched a tent outside the house and moved in.
"Everybody's got a breaking point," she said. "And it can be pretty hard handling teens on your own."
Only a day into her protest, the kids -- Adrian, 14, Charmaine, 10, and Kali, 8, were already feeling the heat of embarrassment.
Adrian returned from school yesterday and began putting away toys. He also planned to make soup and sandwiches for the family dinner.
"We have to get all that cleaned up first and apologize before she will come back," he said. "We shouldn't have done all this in the first place," he added sheepishly.
Bike parts and tools are strewn in the back yard, including shoes dragged out by the dogs. The kitchen sink overflows with dirty dishes. The stairs are littered with dog hair and toys. The floors of the four bedrooms are a mix of stuffed toys, books and clothes.
It all came to a head when Adrian "cleaned up" the playroom by throwing all the toys out into the hall.
Since going public, Toussaint has received both criticism and praise. A woman on a local radio station accused her of child abuse.
"How is it child abuse when I am still on my property with my cordless (phone) in hand, and still buying groceries?"
A Children's Aid Society worker came by, offered Toussaint moral support and asked the kids to listen to their mom.
Toussaint says she will move back when the children sign a pledge, including how to resolve the arguments they have, and agree to share the chores.
"Sometimes it takes a bit of tough love but really I think first they deserve a bit of embarrassment," said mom.
