'Scary mum' called out by 'gentle parent' neighbour in viral Facebook rant

"Obviously yelling isn’t working, and it’s disrupting me and my sleep," the disgruntled woman writes about the mum next door.  

When you’re trying to get out in the morning, what’s the one thing that will make you come undone? You guessed it, it’s kids! As parents we all know that the rush to get ready for school and the day ahead is a nightmare. It shouldn’t be, especially when your child is at an age where they can dress themselves. 

But in reality, the mornings can often go pear shaped, and while parents try to stick to a schedule, kids just won't have a bar of it. And more often than not, we have to raise our voice, aka yelling, to get our kids into gear and out the door. 

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"A friendly reminder for my *** neighbours"

One mother in Perth has outed on a local Facebook group by a neighbour who posted the following. 

“Hello. This is friendly reminder for my *** neighbours. I am getting woke up each morning by a parent yelling at their kids to get ready for school.

"I am not sure how many times you can tell your children to brush their teeth, put on their shoes, pack their bags, and you are yelling you are going to be late for work every morning.

"Obviously yelling isn’t working, and it’s disrupting me and my sleep. Please be respectful of your neighbours.

"You sound like a scary mum when you yell. Personally if I was your kid I’d be putting my shoes on there [them] and then getting out the door.

"I don’t want to approach and ask you to keep it down face to face because I am afraid you will yell at me like you do your kids. Just a gentle reminder to try and use inside voices. Thank you."

Mother is shamed by neighbour for yelling in the mornings. Source: iStock

RELATED: Mum defends reason for yelling at her daughter

Only people with kids get it

Unsurprisingly, the post set parents off, worried that they were the “scary mum” who was called out. And many were quick to jump to the mother's defence. 

One person was quick to respond with, “Obviously you don’t have children!”

To which the neighbour jumping back into #neighbourgate and responded, “Not yet I don’t. Me and my partner will be taking on gentle parenting approach when we do have them.” 

[Insert laughing track here]

So, apparently mornings should go as follows: 

• Wake up get ready  
• Kids wake up with a smile on their face
• They put on their uniform or outfit for the day ahead
• Kids eat breakfast, either prepped by mum and dad or with their help 
• Brush teeth 
• Shoes on, backpack on 
• Out the door 

But we all know it’s NOT at all like that, it’s a scramble, chaotic, and loud mess! Emphasis on loud. There aren’t enough bribes, charts, stickers, rewards or treats in the world to get kids motivated enough to get dressed and out the door like a Julie Andrews movie. 

It would be delightful if we could sing a merry song and the kids would follow along and get dressed, eat a healthy breakfast and skip out the door into the car or whistle as they walk to school. But that is a fantasy - yes some mornings there might be a reprieve, but those are few and far between.  

RELATED: Gentle parenting is so easy… in public

What about gentle parenting? 

Gentle parenting is great, it’s informative with just a hint of shaming, but what Insta videos don’t have are real life children reacting to said gentle parenting. In fact, there is a high-probability that our children aren’t even listening to us at all. Which is how we end up yelling. 

This neighbour is clearly far enough away to not have heard that this mother has asked her children 10-20 times before she had to raise her voice. Trying to remain calm when you have to say the same thing over and over again, every single day, is like hitting your head against a brick wall.

And as parents, there is only so much we can take! 

Even after Kidspot's conversation with Maggie Dent herself, it hasn’t helped. No offence Maggie, it’s not you! Screaming ensued as soon as the kids were asked to get dressed and stop staring into space for the 10th time. 

Getting to school on time is extremely important, it doesn’t matter if you’re a SAH parent or working parent, leaving on time matters.  

A #neighbourgate update... 

The scary mum has been identified and jumped in on the chat "I’ve come home to a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates outside my door. With a note saying by the sounds of your yelling in the morning you need this. Hahaha, looks like that post last night was about me. Now to figure out which neighbours left it there."

Originally published as 'Scary mum' called out by 'gentle parent' neighbour in viral Facebook rant