Woman recalls parents’ “weird” rules—then has realization

A millennial woman from San Diego, California, is going viral for all the “weird” things her family did growing up. 

Michel Janse (@michel.c.janse) rattled off a list of habits unique to her parents in a reel on Instagram.  

Her family, she said, had “even and odd days” for healthy and unhealthy breakfasts—cereal and sugary treats on the first, third and fifth; eggs and fruit on the second, fourth, and sixth. Janse added: “It was my mom’s way of saying, ‘These are the rules. You can’t have sugary cereal every day.’” 

Screen time was just as carefully managed. Over summer breaks, Michel, now 28, and her sister Jacqueline, now 25, earned poker chips—each representing 10 minutes of screen time. 

“We would get three a day,” Michel said. “So, if you wanted to watch a movie, you had to save them for four days in a row.”  

For allowance, Michel would get $12 a week if she went above and beyond her “mandatory chores.” Her parents also created a three-piggy bank system; one for saving, one for generosity and one for fun. 

“Looking back…I can see how intentional they were in trying to shape us into well-rounded adults one day,” Michel told Newsweek. “I think them modeling healthy financial behaviors…stuck with me most, though. I really value financial literacy, and I think they set us up for those habits well at such a young age.” 

Dinner time, meanwhile, became a full-on production. The Janse family’s “gamified dinners” turned mealtime into a themed competition—Michel and her mom Carolyn versus Jacqueline and dad Chris—complete with researched recipes, decorated tables, and tight budgets.  

And perhaps the most humbling of them all: washing and reusing Ziploc bags. “I was so embarrassed because my mom expected me to bring the same one home every day so we could using it over and over,” Michel said.

Michel’s reel inspired some to share the rules they’ve implemented in their families.

“These are cute! We have ‘history dinners’ with my son. Turn off the lights, light candles and research the renaissance or colonial America and eat themed (enough) meals while conversing in character with backstories,” one mom commented. 

“My mom made EVERYTHING fun. All of my siblings love veggies and love exploring new foods and are wonderful cooks because my mom would “let us” each pick out a new fruit or vegetable we would want to try, and she would cut it and plate it all fancy and make it a simple treasure,” another said. 

Many others praised Chris and Carolyn for their parenting style.  

“I’m gunna [sic] copy all of these,” one user wrote. 

“I just put so many things in my mom toolbox,” added another. 

“I adore my parents and I love seeing their impact on other young parents watching me recap my childhood,” Michel said. “They were touched to know people care and I am touched to see so many current parents wanting to find resources to raise good kids.” 

As for whether she plans to carry her family’s unconventional legacy forward? “I might steal all of them when I have kids,” Michel said. “Thank you, mom, for putting in the research and work so that I can just copy and paste when it is my turn.”