Introduction

Navigating the tumultuous waters of adolescence is daunting for any parent. Teens go through huge physical and emotional changes that can often lead to mood swings, rebellious behavior, or worse. Sometimes, adults have to tolerate it for years to come.

After Vivian Wood’s teenage daughter, Maya refused to clean her bedroom, she knew she had to come up with a plan to shock her daughter into responsibility. Little did she know that her unorthodox approach would change their relationship and their home forever.

Meet the Woods

Vivian Wood and her 15-year-old daughter Maya lived in New York City. When Maya was born, Vivian hoped that it would fix everything between her and her husband. For the first year, they were united in their desire to be good parents.

However, as Maya grew older, Vivian’s husband Jake became more and more distant and when Maya was two, they finally decided that they couldn’t make it work any longer. Vivian had no idea that her problems were just getting started.

Getting a Divorce

Vivian and Jake got divorced, and Vivian was awarded sole custody of Maya. Jake didn’t have his own apartment and was crashing on friends’ couches, working here and there. Before long, it became apparent that he wasn’t interested in being a part of his toddler’s life.

Vivian was devastated, but she knew that she needed to be strong for her daughter. She could see that Jake was going to do his own thing and Maya was her whole world. She had no idea that one day Jake would be the least of her worries.

Single Mom

Being a single mom was tough for Vivian, but she did her best to make sure her daughter had everything she ever needed. She connected with an amazing network of other single moms who all supported each other.

When Maya was young, things were easier. She loved her mom and she always tried to be a good little girl. But these days, she was finding it a lot harder to connect with Maya. It is mostly because of the age phase Maya is going through. It sure makes it harder to come to a common conclusion with such outbursts of hormones.

Moody Teen

Now Maya was 15 and she was definitely going through her grumpy teenager phase. Vivian tried to understand her daughter but she often shut herself in her room, playing on her phone for hours on end. Typical teenage behavior it was and it was like she was pretending to be in a world that does not exist.

The other moms in her group were going through the same thing, trying to support their moody teens and getting a lot of attitude in return. But Vivian was dealing with something that she was sure the other moms weren’t facing. And it was quite troublesome.

Messy Room

Regardless of how much Vivian asked, Maya absolutely refused to clean her room or help around the house. Her room was always a mess, covered in clothes, makeup, wires, old mugs, dirty plates, and more. And she would never listen to Vivian’s requests to clean.

When she got home from school, she would chuck her backpack, shoes, and jacket on the floor. Vivian couldn’t work out where her sweet little girl had gone. Why had she been replaced by someone so careless and unhelpful?