Bravo’s Jaime Primak Sullivan is proud to be the meanest mom in the world. When her three kids didn’t thank the Dairy Queen employee who served them their ice cream, the Jersey Belle star tossed their treats in the garbage. Sullivan recounted the story in an April 17 Facebook post that has since been shared more than 50,000 times.
“They ordered their dessert choices and we waited about five minutes for them to call out our number,” Sullivan wrote. “The young lady (maybe 17) handed each child their ice cream. Not one looked her in the eye. Not one one said thank you. Not to her, not to me … so I waited. I counted to 10.”
The Birmingham, AL-based mother of Olivia, 8, Max, 7, and Charlie, 5, continued: “I followed them outside where I calmly collected their ice cream cones and my kids watched in horror as I deposited them into the nearby trash can. All three launched into mass hysteria … I explained that one day, if they were lucky, they would work a job like that young lady. And I would hope that people would see them. Really see them. Look them in the eye and say thank you. We are too old at 8/7/5 to move through our days without exercising manners and honestly basic human decency. So today, I am the meanest mom in the world.”
Her post has received 388,000 likes and 34,000 comments. “I waitressed while I was in college … I was disrespected many times by adults and also by some of their children who were never taught how to treat someone with respect. Proud of you for raising good human beings,” wrote one follower, while another praised Sullivan for being “one of the smartest Moms.” But not everyone applauded Primak’s actions. “Wow. I would do never do that to my children. It’s not like they were intentionally disrespectful, they just forgot to say thank you … Fear is not an acceptable way to teach your kids,” wrote one Facebook follower. Another called Sullivan “psycho.”
Sullivan, who is the host of the daily digital series #cawfeetawk, isn’t phased by the criticism. “A few folks felt throwing away the ice cream was too harsh, but my guess is that they also think that kids should get trophies just for showing up, and that’s not how life works,” she tells Us Weekly. “Sometimes in order to learn the lesson, you really have to feel it.”
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Her controversial method worked. During an April 24 trip to a local ice cream shop, “all three said ‘thank you’ together as we handed them their cups,” Sullivan tells Us. “They’re children … teaching manners and basic human decency is a marathon, not a sprint. They will make mistakes, but for now, it appears the lesson has been learned.”
Sullivan’s book The Southern Education of a Jersey Girl hits shelves Aug. 2. She will host the current-events roundup series “The Daily Perk,” launching early this summer on Facebook.
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