A mother who locked her alcohol cupboard to stop her teenagers from drinking has been forced to defend herself against barrage of criticism on social media.
Cheree Lawrence is the founder of Oh So Busy Mum, a popular Facebook group with over 200,000 members.
The mum-of-four from Brisbane, Queensland, recently posted a photo of her drinks press, revealing she had placed the booze under lock and key to prevent her eldest daughters from stealing it.
‘When you have teens in the house, you need to protect the goods with a lock and key,’ she wrote in the caption.
‘This Kmart metal locker is perfect! Should I be looking at locking the bar fridge too?’
An Australian mother has been forced to defend her decision to keep her alcohol behind lock and key (pictured) to stop her teenagers from drinking
The post, which has racked up 1,300 ‘likes’ and more than 1,000 responses since it was uploaded online on Tuesday, quickly divided opinion.
While some praised her for foreseeing the ‘inevitable’, others accused her of mistrusting her girls and being naive.
‘Trust issues much?’ one woman replied.
A second added: ‘If you need to lock it, they probably know how to pick the lock.’
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Ms Lawrence hit back at critics, insisting her comparative youth to other parents means she vividly remembers her teens and the antics she got up to.
‘Ok, maybe I’m not as old as some of you perfect parents out there, but I have good memories of my teen years not so long ago,’ she wrote.
‘If you parent different to me, well done. That’s how it should be done because ALL kids are different.’
Ms Lawrence continued that there is no right way to parent, rather everyone must do what works for their family.
‘If you trust your kids, give yourself a fairy clap. I certainly won’t be trusting any teens near my alcohol anytime soon. I like to think of it as smart parenting, preventing the inevitable,’ she said.
‘The post is just a bit of fun, no need to take it too seriously and start talking emotions or the affect it will have on my children in years to come. I’m sure as adults, they will come back and thank me that I did my best for them.’
But many backed her approach, with one mum writing: ‘First rule of parenting – NEVER say ‘My kid would NEVER do that!’ Good job with the locker.’
‘All these people commenting it’s sad you can’t trust your kids, do they even have kids?’ a second asked.
A third praised Ms Lawrence for locking her teens out, adding: ‘It’s actually safer for them and makes you a good parents, whether they are elusive golden children or not.’
‘Speaking as the kid who replaced mum’s Midori with cordial, wise move,’ said a fourth.
Others said locking the cupboard was a ‘great idea’ and agreed that Ms Lawrence’s kids will thank her in years to come.
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