As Doreen Korba scrambled through her Pennsylvania home in a last-minute rush before a 10-day family trip, one word kept echoing through the rooms: “Mom!”
“I’m trying to make sure we have everything, and every two seconds I hear ‘Mom! Do you have my iPad charger? Mom! Did you pack snacks? Mom! I need a bowl! Mom! Where’s my other shoe,” Korba tells TODAY.com. “And mind you, it was pretty early in the morning.”
Korba recalls shooting her husband, Mike, a look that silently screamed, “help,” and he understood immediately.
Moments later, the Korbas’ daughters, Josie, 8, and Quinn, 6, were summoned into the living room by their father for an important family meeting. Their brother, Michael, 13 — the biggest culprit, according to Korba — was still in the garage loading the car with luggage.
Not wanting Michael to miss his dad’s talk, Korba recorded it so he could watch later, and then shared it on Instagram, where the “8 a.m ‘Stop Saying Mom’ intervention” quickly went viral.
Standing before his children with a calm, steady voice, Michael, 43, begins, “I know you guys love your mother, I love her too. But every day — even just this morning — inside an hour of being up, every minute, ‘Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom’ — too many ‘moms.’”
He continues gently, “You guys are old enough to do stuff on your own, and I know that you love to show us stuff, but you need to just like slow down a little bit.”
It’s no surprise that the footage struck a chord with other moms, many wondering if Michael could have the same chat with their kids.
“My son is ready for whenever you have the next meeting. Please & thank you, mgmt!” one person wrote in the comments.
Other comments include:
- “They were literally looking over at mom during the presentation, ready to just say mom, did you approve this?!”
- “Every mom’s SO REAL reality. Love his intervention.”
- “The kids just waiting for him to be done so they can call for mom again.”
- “Is he available to FaceTime my 6-year-old to give this speech ’cause enough is enough.”
“It’s a universal experience. People all over the world are commenting,” Korba says. “It makes you feel so much less alone, because realize you’re not the only one whose kids need your attention constantly. There are moms that are like, ‘My son is 18 and this is still happening.’”
Korba describes Mike as “the best” and “most present” parent, and yet ….
“He could be standing right next to them, and they’’ll still call up the stairs for me,” she says, laughing.
Asked if his public service announcement worked, she doesn’t miss a beat and says, “Nope.”
“But I’m so glad he advocated for me,” Korba tells TODAY.com. “That’s really the best part. I didn’t have to ask him. He just knew I’d hit my limit with the ‘moms.’”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
Kelly meets comedian and head writer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Danny Ricker who is on a mission to give parents back their time, money and mind with his new book “Wow, You Look Terrible!”
