‘My son had been fantasizing about my blackmail attempt’

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Sure, after bribing your child you don’t expect a Nobel Prize. But that your little one is going to trumpet your blackmail attempt, as a parent you are not quite waiting for that either.

Lobke (42), mother of Femke (12) and Renze (9):

“At the start of group 6, our school organizes a three-day camp with the class. Often to a youth hostel where there are all kinds of sports and games activities. Renze had been nervous about it all summer. He’s very dependent on me and doesn’t like the unknown anyway.

Read also – The teacher: ‘They didn’t sleep a wink at the school camp’ >

Bribe

The week before the camp outing he became more and more rebellious. He didn’t go. It would be so stupid, he would rather do homework for a week. Because I know my child well and know that once he is there he will have a great time, I had to come up with something to get him along. But no matter what I said, he wouldn’t be persuaded.

Until I suggested – oh so irresponsibly – that if he neatly boarded the bus on Monday, he could choose a Beyblade job on his return. He did listen to that. Satisfied, we packed his bag together.

Of course I was right: he had a fantastic time at camp. I felt very successful as a mother. Until his master came to me when I came to pick up Renze. He was curious for a moment; what exactly had I promised Renze? It turned out that my son had been trumpeting my blackmail attempt in scents and colors.”

77% of mothers in the Netherlands have to deal with mom shaming, according to research by Kek Mama. The editors found this so shocking that they started a campaign: Kek Mama launches mombracing, the counterpart of momshaming, and calls on all mothers to support each other instead of criticizing from now on.

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