Many good parents are out there fighting the good fight against stereotypes and traditional gender roles, but man, it can certainly be an uphill battle.
OP has two sons, 12 and 10. Things got heated at home after the oldest yelled at his mother about not having his laundry done in a timely manner and OP said hold up.
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.
I took him to the laundry room and made him do laundry for the family. I taught him what clothes could go together and what should not.
He and his wife both work full time jobs and work hard at home as well. He taught his 12yo how to do his own laundry but still wasn’t satisfied this was punishment enough.
My wife is a teacher and she works her rear off to make sure we have a nice home to live in.
She tells me what she needs me to do and I take care of it. Beyond my share of the housework I mean.
Well my kid needs to be punished and I thought of the best possible way to do it.
OP decided that he would send his wife on vacation while he worked from home for a week to watch the kids. His oldest, though, would be in charge of meals, laundry, and keeping the kitchen tidy for both he and his brother for the week.
I’m sending my wife to Mexico with her school friends over spring break. I’m going to work from home that week and keep an eye on the kids.
It won’t be difficult because I’m putting the older one in charge of the younger one. He will be doing laundry, making breakfast and lunch for both of them and making sure the kitchen and dining room stay clean.
He thought this was fair, and after some lengthy discussion, even grandma – who was at first going to swoop in and rescue the kid – agreed that it was.
He said it’s unfair to make him work over spring break. I asked him if he thought it was a full time job to do all that I was expecting of him. He said yes it was a full time job. I pointed out that his mother and I both have full time jobs and still manage to do everything that he is whining about.
He called my mom to see if he could stay there for spring break. She tried to tell me I was being cruel to her poor baby.
I asked her what exactly her and my father would have done to me if I had yelled at her for not doing my laundry?
She said that it was a different time.
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 said he could not stay there.
Does Reddit think Dad came down too hard? Let’s see!
The top comment says this is a good start, but they want to know where he learned this behavior in the first place.
This person agrees OP took exactly the right tone.
They had to laugh at the typical grandma behavior, though.
Plenty of moms out there definitely agree they need help.
They don’t necessarily think YouTube is to blame.
This is a great example of good partnering, to be sure.
They need to make sure the lesson really sinks in, though.