Local Married Couple Indirectly Boss Each Other Around Via Their Kids

"Hey Tommy would you like Daddy to brush your teeth then take you to bed? OK great."

Having kids can be very rewarding. But let's face it. There's a lot of stuff to do, and sometimes you couldn't be arsed. But one coastal mum has discovered a secret way to get out of her least-favourite chores.

After a really tough day with her two young kids, Karen Holman (34) will often find herself completely knackered. She just wants to unwind with a glass of wine, and not wrangle the little terrors to sleep.

But Karen knows that when her husband Ronnie gets home from work, he may have had a shocker of a day and have the same goal. And that negotiation could then go either way, depending on who is more desperate for that glass of red.

Then Karen stumbled across an almost unbeatable way to win the tug of war. Ask the kids if they would like daddy to take them to bed/brush teeth/whatever the task may be. Once they say yes, he's pretty much stuffed.

But things have taken a fairly concerning turn for the worse in the last week or so. Ronnie has caught on. And has started to use the tactic back against her.

Karen explained just how bad things have gotten.

"OK so now Ronnie is asking the kids if 'mum' should give them a bath, take them to the shops, feed them etc etc. He's using my trick against me! And I'm then trying to convince the kids they'd prefer Ronnie to do those things. We're now conducting complex negotiations via a third party. It's a proxy war. It's beyond ridiculous."

Karen seems to now accept that she's going to have to go back to discussing things like adults. But man it was good while it lasted. Before Ronnie ruined everything.