My 12 year old son refuses to do “girl chores” and my ex-husband agrees
The year is 2023, but according to one mother, her son is acting like it’s 1923 this week.
She explained online that her 12-year-old son has decided he will no longer do “girl chores” in his house – and frustratingly, he has been supported by his father.
“Cleaning is not gender specific”
In a post on Reddit, the mother shared that she has three children: two 12-year-old twins and a 10-year-old.
They have daily chores for which she pays them “$10 a day.” However, $10 will be deducted from their pay if they miss a day. The boys have to do their jobs five days a week, it doesn’t matter which days they work.”
The mother adds: “This system worked excellently for us from the start; the boys always completed their tasks.”
But when one of the twins mentioned to his friend that he had chores to do, the friend replied that he was glad his parents weren’t forcing him to do “girly chores.”
The outraged mother said: “I spoke to my son and explained to him that cleaning is not gender specific, but that it is a life skill that everyone needs to master. I also told him that I understand that other families function differently; However, in our family everyone contributed equally.”
The boy remained unconvinced and refused to do his “girl duties” for the next few days.
This meant that on grant day, the two brothers who completed their assignments received $50, but the 12-year-old who refused only received $20. But instead of learning a lesson, the boy called his father to complain.
“My ex-husband then called me and told me I was wrong for giving him just $20, imagining that it made him feel like his brothers got more than him.
“I explained to him that our other sons actually completed their chores every five days, so they were rewarded accordingly.”
She added that her husband said she was being “insensitive” and “humiliating” their son.
“$600 a month for the three children”
Commenters completely agreed with the mother and even told her that breaking up with her “clueless” ex was a smart decision.
The comments mostly focused on the mother’s generosity in paying her three children $600 a month for their chores.
One wrote: “It’s the real world, you don’t do your job, you don’t get paid and I actually think $10 a day in pocket money is pretty generous. “$10 a day is crazy for that age.”
Another added: “You don’t deduct money from your son’s allowance, you don’t pay him for services not provided.” The sexist, misogynistic reasons for not getting tasks done need to be corrected and this isn’t going through Reward happened.”
Many others were confused about the “girls’ chores,” with one writing, “What are girls’ chores?” Is that what it’s called when men do housework? I know mom tried to explain things, but the father really needs to support her so that the son gets the message.”
