Abi Cooper, 21, has revealed the six firm guidelines her mother implemented for her and her two siblings during their upbringing. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Comments
A young woman has unveiled the six household standards her mom insisted upon throughout her childhood. Abi Cooper, posting content under @lifewithabicooper on TikTok, shared a six-minute video on the social platform, outlining the regulations and their impact on her journey into adulthood.
At the age of 18, Abi conceded that she considered her mom’s directives to be “shocking, unreasonable and unjust,” but with greater maturity now, she comprehends precisely her mother’s intentions and approves of them. The now 21-year-old elucidated that the guidelines have shaped her and her two sisters into the individuals they are today.
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Abi commented: “I truly believe my mum’s guidelines from the past have significantly contributed to the person I am now.”
“For context, I have two sisters, and we are all quite academic. I completed secondary school with all top grades, studied law at university in a highly ranked institution, graduated with honors and am now pursuing qualification as a legal professional. I wholeheartedly attribute much of this to my mum’s extreme rules growing up.
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“For context, neither of my parents attended university, so education was exceptionally vital for my mum. However, she lacked prior experience with it.”
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Her mother’s primary guideline dictated that all three daughters were required to constantly engage in reading a physical book or one on a digital device.
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Abi explained: “During the evenings, we had to read before bedtime, and we maintained this habit until we reached 16 or 17 years old. We are now all avid readers and delve into a diverse range of genres. This really helped establish a fondness for reading from a young age, and it’s a practice I’ve continued into adulthood.”
The second guideline for the girls pertained to the iPad, which Abi characterized as being “so tightly controlled” that usage was nearly impossible.
@lifewithabicooper
Let me know what you guys think of these! Did you have similar rules growing up? #rules #parenting #parents
original sound – Abi Cooper
Abi shared: “I would be playing games with my friends, like Minecraft and similar titles, and my iPad would automatically shut down due to the set time restrictions. I was only permitted a specific duration, all the Apple IDs were secured, and my mum maintained complete control.
“This was to prevent us from constantly using the iPad. However, she would then require us to use certain apps on the iPad to gain access to the games.
“We were required to play spelling games and achieve perfect scores before being able to start any games. We also had to practice our multiplication tables on this app and do that every week for your weekly timestables test at school.
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“When all other applications were disabled, the only permitted app featured country flags, so my sisters and I possess a strong understanding of country flags and capitals now. We also had another game focused on capitals, so she made us memorize all the capitals and country flags.”
The third guideline revolved around academic success and parent-teacher conferences. Even though Abi consistently met all her objectives at school, her mother would consistently push for further enhancement.
She remarked: “That particular guideline instilled a strong work ethic in my sisters and me, motivating us to continuously strive for the next achievement and avoid complacency.”
The fourth and fifth rules stipulated that no phones were permitted at the dinner table, and that you were required to present a political viewpoint.
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Abi stated: “If you join the dinner table, you had better have a political opinion and a fact check, and it needs to be supported by some form of evidence because your opinion will be challenged. This aided my sisters and I in developing robust critical thinking abilities and helped us gain a thorough understanding of current affairs.
“There’s no such thing as a forbidden conversation topic, you’re free to discuss anything you desire.”
The final guideline for the Cooper household was to complete supplementary homework, including standardized assessment papers, before entering the final year of primary education.
Abi noted: “If you were struggling in a particular subject, she would assign you a tutor. In all fairness, reflecting on my mum’s rules now, I genuinely believe they instilled a great deal of discipline and a strong work ethic in my sisters and me.”
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Several TikTok users posed questions regarding Abi’s mum’s rules, with one inquiring, “Do you feel you ever experienced an issue with not being ‘good enough’ due to the immense expectations placed on you at such a young age?”.
Abi replied: “Nope! Diligence was encouraged, and my sisters and I consistently had ambitious goals, which my parents continually supported.”
Another user commented: “This makes me feel like I was neglected. Essentially no rules. Parents were employed full time, often working late. Although, it turned out alright.”
A third remarked: “Strongly agree with some of these, strongly disagree with others.”
Yet another added: “Nope! Hard work was encouraged and my sisters and I always had huge goals and my parents just continuously encouraged that.”