Son, 12, Refuses To Sweep & Wipe Dust As It's ‘Girl Chores’ - His Mom Teaches Him It's Not Gender Specific

A mother punished her son for not doing his chores while his brothers were rewarded for doing theirs. The woman then got a phone call from her ex-husband telling her she was being too harsh.

A 41-year-old mother with twin 12-year-old boys and a ten-year-old son took to Reddit to ask if she was being unreasonable for punishing her son. The original poster (OP) explained the situation that had unfolded.

The mother explained that she required all three of her sons to do chores around the house when they turned eight. The boys began earning money for it two years after they started doing chores.

When her boys turned ten, the OP would pay each $10 daily to complete their chores. If they did not meet their duties, $10 would be deducted for the lack of work. This system caused an argument between the OP and her ex-husband.

How Did the OP Punish Her Son?

The woman's ten-year-old son had been earning money for his chores for a few weeks. The OP explained that she required her sons to do tasks five days a week but didn't care which days they chose to do those chores.

Her ten-year-old son had been assigned sweeping and wiping counters in the house. One day, his friend asked him to join him in an online game, to which the boy replied he would participate in fifteen minutes when he had completed his chores.

When the boy joined his friend in the online game, his friend asked what chores he had to do and then expressed gratitude that his parents didn't make him do "girl chores." This caused an issue.

The OP explained to her son that cleaning was a life skill not specific to any gender. She then told him all families were different, but everyone had an equal share of the chores in theirs. She shared:

"Even after speaking with him the first day he decided to not do his [chores], he still chose not to do his chores."

As the woman had discussed with her sons, she deducted the $10 every day he didn't complete his chores. The boy earned $20 for the week. In comparison, his brothers each had $50 because they had completed their weekly chores.

While the woman did exactly what she told her son she would do, he became distraught and phoned his father to tell him what had happened. This is where the problem for the OP came in.

What Happened with the OP's Ex-Husband?

After the boy phoned his father to tell him how he had been punished, the OP's ex-husband called her to tell her she was in the wrong for only giving her son $20 and asked her how she thought he felt that his brothers had so much more money.

The OP explained that their other sons had done the work and deserved the money they had earned. She also told her ex-husband that if he wanted to dole out the allowances, he could control them however he liked, but since she was in charge of it, she would do it her way.

The woman's ex-husband told her she was being "insensitive” and was "humiliating” their son. She turned to Reddit to ask if she was being unreasonable for punishing her son for not doing his chores.

Users quickly flooded the comments section, telling her what they thought of her way of disciplining her son. The story also reached Facebook, where the OP received even more comments about her parenting style.

One person said the OP was a good parent and that her sons might grow up knowing how to do all household chores and not assigning specific duties to certain genders. The commenter also said the boys received a sizable compensation for their efforts.

Another commenter said this method was giving the OP's sons a sense of responsibility and added:

"It sounds like the father should show some parenting skills instead of being a supportive 'friend’ to his son."

Another woman shared that she had worked at a school where a little boy refused to clean up the art class as he considered it women's work. She called his teacher, who showed him the error in his thinking.

While this mother taught her son a valuable lesson about doing his chores and sharing responsibility in the household, another taught her son a lesson about not being prejudiced. You can read the full story here.