Dad Comes Home To Son Yelling At His Mom For Doing His Laundry Wrong

Nov 06, 2023

Raising a child well is no mean feat. The financial, emotional, and mental costs of being a parent are far greater than they usually appear to be. According to the Association for Psychological Science, studies have shown that “parents, compared to adults without kids, experience lower emotional well-being — fewer positive feelings and more negative ones ... and suffer more from depression.”

Parenting can be hard because no two individuals are entirely the same. Some children can be very easy to raise, while others may be quite difficult, which may tempt their parents to say or do things they regret later. There is also no manual for raising well-behaved kids. The variances in children can sometimes cause dilemmas, fears, and anxieties in parents.

Parenting is even more difficult in today’s world, where kids are exposed to divergent ideologies and values, especially on social media. Children can be easily indoctrinated with ideas that are contrary to their parents’ values because of online influences. Sometimes, these ideologies can be beneficial, but there are also multiple harmful opinions and thoughts that kids can be subjected to if they are not properly monitored.

Although many parents choose to focus on the joy of parenting, raising kids properly is undeniably a tasking job that can have even the best of persons doubt themselves. So, when a Redditor caught his son yelling at the mom for not doing his laundry, the disappointed dad punished his son but wondered if he was not being too harsh. Hence, he asked Reddit for their opinions on April 14, 2023. 

“I came home about a month ago and caught my son yelling at his mom about his clothes. He was asking her how hard it was to make sure his clothes were cleaned,” the original poster (OP) began.

Angry at his son’s lack of empathy, he took the 12-year-old to the laundry room and taught him how to sort clothes, after which he asked the boy to do the laundry. 

“My wife is a teacher and she works her ass off to make sure we have a nice home to live in,” OP continued. “She tells me what she needs me to do and I take care of it. Beyond my share of the housework, I mean.”

He then considered the best way to punish their son and teach him to be responsible and empathetic. OP sent his wife on a vacation to Mexico with some friends while he worked from home so he could stay with the kids. He asked his son to be responsible for doing the laundry and keeping the kitchen and dining room clean. He would also prepare breakfast and lunch for himself and his younger brother. 

However, the boy thought it was unfair that he had to do a “full-time job” during school break. OP then asked his son why he thought it was okay for him and their mom to work full-time and still do the chores. To get out of his tasks, the boy called his grandma, who tried to talk OP out of it. 

She said he was “cruel to her poor baby,” but OP reminded her that he did more than that when growing up with her. 

“She said that it was a different time,” OP disclosed. “I said he could stay with her if she was willing to tell him, in front of me, all the punishment I endured when I lived at home.”

She then decided her grandson couldn’t stay with her. 

Most Redditors applauded the dad for taking a firm stance to direct his son’s attitude toward women and house chores. 

“NTA. And as an overworked, under appreciated wife and mom if [sic] 3 I WISH there were more husbands like this! Keep being a good partner for your wife,” someone praised. 

Another person wrote, “NTA I think it’s a good plan. Just make sure going forward that both kids have regular chores.”

Another person replied, “And I do not think that the amount or nature of the responsibilities that you are putting on your 12-year-old are unreasonable - keeping two rooms clean, doing laundry, and making two meals for him and his younger sibling."

One user opined, “And he will continue to be a child past adulthood if he doesn’t start to learn how to fend for himself. Parents: You are supposed to be teaching your kids how to fend for themselves when they leave the nest. Doing everything for them and then allowing them to yell at you is highly counterproductive. NTA."

A fifth Redditor suggested that OP treat the situation as a learning opportunity rather than a punitive measure so that the boy could learn proper behavior. 

Someone agreed and wrote, “NTA here as well, but I do think there may be a bit more punishment than education in OP’s response and there’s a great opportunity here for education.”

Meanwhile, some Redditors thought that social media might have reinforced bad behavior in the 12-year-old. 

“This comment about watching YouTube needs to be highlighted in red. A lot of schools are having issues with young boys talking rudely to their peers/teachers/parents,” someone replied. 

What do you think of OP’s response to the situation? Have you experienced a similar circumstance? How did you handle it? Let us know — and pass this on to family and friends.