Funny mom lays down the law by giving her son 7 back-to-school rules that every kid must hear
“What we not gonna do is complain about the lunches that are packed for you."

Nicole Jackson's back-to-school rules
The beginning of the school year is a time of positive anticipation for many students and their parents as they look towards what they hope will be a great year. Maybe this year, we can learn from all of our past mistakes, grow up a bit and make it the best year ever.
Or, we can fall into the same habits and deal with the same frustrating situations until June.
To avoid the same problems she’s had with her then 13-year-old son in the past, Ohio mom Nicole Jackson made a “PowerPoint presentation” of her seven things that won’t be happening in the new school year, “Coz this ain't that.”
The video went viral in July of 2022, but it resonated with parents everywhere, so it’s being shared again as a pep talk for the 2023 to 2024 school year. “It doesn’t matter what race, color, or creed—motherhood is the thing that unites us,” Jackson, 43, tells TODAY.com.
Here are the seven things “We not gon' do [this school year], coz this ain't that.”
@thicnicjack THIS AINT THAT BACK TO SCHOOL ADDITION! #parenthood #backtoschool #denofbigboys #foryoupage #fyp #foryou
1. Faking being sick
“What we not gonna do is change up our stomach energy. You’ve been living on a diet of hot chips, chicken nuggets, and every popsicle and disgusting drink known to man, without one stomachache. You’re not about to come to me talking about ‘my stomach hurt’ like you’ve got the intestinal tract of a geriatric Crohn’s patient,” Jackson begins.
2. Start sleeping in
“What we not gonna do is act like we can’t wake up. You’ve getting up at 6:77 every morning—and yes, I said 6:77 because it’s some ungodly hour that doesn’t exist—asking me about some breakfast,” Jackson says. “This ain’t that.”
3. Forget to have your clothes ready the night before
“I’m not about to have a slight heart attack trying to rush us out the door to get you on time for the bus,” Jackson says. “This ain’t that.”
4. Run out of school supplies
“I literally just spent $75,000 making sure everything on the list was there,” the mother says. “You’re not about to keep losing everything.”
5. Tell me about things the night before
"I'm not about to get my blood pressure up running around here to get all these supplies, find an outfit or do a project into the wee hours of the morning,” Jackson says.
6. Complain about lunches
“What we not gonna do is complain about the lunches that are packed for you,” Jackson notes. "I literally took you to the store and asked you if every separate item was OK, but then when I went to put it together in a lunch that’s nutritious, now all of a sudden, it’s trash.”
7. Ask if dinner is ready
This year, Jackson warns her son to stop asking if dinner is ready “55 times” when he gets home from school. "I told you to eat the lunch that I provided, that you told me was OK, but now is trash," she says.
Jackson’s video connected with teachers and parents.
"Can you please speak at every school?????" Gregisms wrote.
"Ma'am, respectfully, do you do presentations via Zoom?? Cause my boy needs this," Whitty added.
"Omg, as a teacher, can we get copies of this slide show for our students for the first day!!!” a teacher wrote.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.