Mom Gets Backlash For Staying Inside Sorority House With College-Aged Daughter During Rush — 'I Pay For This Space So I Can Be Here If I Want'
Is she invading her daughter's personal space?
Andriiii, Joshua Rainey Photography / Shutterstock One of the popular perks of the college experience is freedom. Matriculating students love the idea of being able to do whatever they want without backlash from their parents, including joining a fraternity or sorority.
However, some think one mom took her support to an invasive level, putting all of her daughter's roommates in what might be a seemingly uncomfortable situation.
The mom roomed with her daughter during her sorority's rush week to help around the house.
TikTok mom Jamie Pledger (@jamiekasppledger) posted a video to her account, and received mixed opinions and backlash on the lengths she has taken to help her daughter.
In her video, Pledger discussed that she has been rooming with her daughter in her sorority house to help clean and prepare lunches for the girls during rush week. Rush week is the most hectic and chaotic week of a sorority as recruitment and other events begin to set off the year.
She said, “I give my daughter space, I just want to be in that space with her.” This comment opened the doors for many to give Pledger backlash for being a “needy and clingy” mom.
In the caption of her video, Pledger wrote, “I'm rooming with my daughter in her sorority house. This has been the best 24 hours I've had in a long time. Don't come at me saying I need to give my daughter space, I pay for this space so I can be here if I want to. Lol.” Despite her caption, people still labeled her as "clingy."
Pledger’s other videos prove that she's actually trying to help around the sorority house.
Pledger has many other videos posted to her account that show she is truly trying to help. She even had one of the sorority girls in the comments standing up for her.
She posted a video of her mopping the floors of the home. In one of the comments she wrote, “She has her own way, I just help out when needed” and that the girls can’t have house cleaners in the home during rush week.
One of the sorority members commented on Pledger’s video and replied to a comment which read, “I noticed other moms there too. Why are you all there? Assuming there is a reason.” She wrote in her reply, “We always have moms/alums come to help prep for sorority recruitment! We couldn’t do it without them.”
Pledger stated that her daughter’s sorority house is 20,000 square feet and that, with 400 girls living there, without house cleaners available during rush week, it would be incredibly hard to manage without moms and alumni coming to help.
Despite her efforts to defend herself, many people still suggested that she let go and that it was “clingy” and “unhealthy” of her to hang around her daughter like this.
Her videos raise questions about parenting and if behavior like this is acceptable in society.
Many expressed their disdain towards Pledger about her “neediness,” and said that her behavior is unhealthy. However, looking at her other videos, it truly seems like she’s simply providing a helping hand for her daughter. Living in a huge sorority house, as she had explained, it’s clear they are going to need help.
Maybe staying for longer than the initial rush period would pose some concerns, but helping out her daughter and her sorority sisters during their most hectic week doesn’t seem like a major issue.
Some suggested that Pledger stay somewhere else and help out during the day, instead of rooming with her daughter during the nighttime. But others found this behavior totally healthy and normal.
The comments on Pledger’s parenting speak to the way we were raised. Being raised in certain environments creates certain parenting styles and expectations. For example, being brought up by parents who were strict and controlling may lead to a similar parenting style, or a completely opposite relaxed parenting style.
Pledger’s style of parenting may seem invasive to some, but to others, she was just trying to help her daughter have an easier college experience. With parents who have close relationships with their children, is there such a thing as “letting go” of your kid?
Cortney Crowell is a writer and frequent contributor to YourTango from New Jersey who covers entertainment, news, and human interest stories.