A mom has shared the unexpected way she gets her daughters to stop bickering.
Taking to TikTok, Maggie revealed her two girls, aged 13 and nine, “fight like cats and dogs. Piss and fire. Oil and water.”
“Which is normal for their age,” she added. “I have to remind myself that it’s normal.”
But when reminders and reasoning don’t cut it, Maggie isn’t afraid to reach for a more unconventional tactic.
“I am not above this parenting hack,” she said.
“If you have a dead sibling, use that against them. You know what I’ve been saying? ‘My brother is dead!’”
“The guilt trip. It worked.”
According to Maggie, the morbid mic drop stops her daughters in their tracks.
It’s like an ice bucket of water that stops the fighting and starts the perspective.
Maggie even went as far as to provide a real-life example for when a parent might want to pull out the dark humor card.
“My oldest daughter texted me and said hey ‘I’m taking Hank on a walk,’” the mum explained.
She instructed that she take her younger sister along with her.
The daughter refused, saying, “No, I need to spend time alone.”
“My brother’s dead. I wish I had one more walk with him, walking my dog,” Maggie responded to her daughter.
“The guilt trip. It worked.”
Her comment section quickly filled with support from parents who use similar tactics.
“This could still work”
“Giiiiirl, I’m using this, because unfortunately, my brother too is dead,” one person wrote.
“My brother is dead, and I use that line whenever I need to. I know he doesn’t mind,” a second shared.
A third revealed: “I do this but with my dad. When my son is mean to me or ignores me, I pull out the dead dad guilt trip card. ‘I wish MY dad was still alive… I’d love to spend time with him!’”
Some with siblings still very much alive even took inspiration from it.
“Ok, so my sister is alive, BUT very much dead to me… this could still work,” one commenter said.
A second pitched: “I’m an only child. Should I invent some trauma?”
Maggie admits it’s not a trick to be overused.
“You can’t use it all the time, because that’s a little too morbid,” Maggie said.
“But it does work. You’re welcome.”
Dark? Yes. Effective? Absolutely.
