After Moving Into A New Neighborhood, A Child Started To Mow His Lawn And Said He Does It For Other Neighbors For $5. However, He Wants To Mow His Own Lawn, And Now The Kid’s Mom Is Upset.

Michael Levanduski

3 weeks ago

Source: Shutterstock/Reddit

Mowing lawns is a great way for a child to earn some money while developing a good work ethic.

But what would you do if a neighborhood kid started mowing your lawn without asking, and then his mom got upset when you wouldn’t pay him for it?

That is what is happening to the guy in this story, and he isn’t sure if he is in the wrong here.

Check it out.

AITA for refusing to pay a neighborhood kid for cutting my lawn when I didn’t ask him to?

I (29M) recently bought my first house.

I’m settling in and like the neighborhood, and a few neighbors even came by to say hello.

They included a woman (43F) and her 13 year old son.

Not long after, I was on my couch one afternoon and saw the son outside, mowing my front lawn.

I was confused, since I’d never asked him to and he’d never offered.

No big deal.

I went out and politely asked him why he was doing it – he said he did it for lots of neighbors, and quickly added they give him $5 for it.

I found it really weird, so thanked him for the partial work he’d done, before explaining that since I hadn’t asked or wanted him to do it, I wasn’t going to be paying him.

He said OK, and quietly left my lawn.

I figured that might be the end of it – just a kid trying to make some money, resolved with no harm done, end of story.

But the next day his mom arrived on my doorstep and angrily asked me why I hadn’t paid her son.

I basically repeated what I’d said to her son, but she wouldn’t accept it.

She just kept saying that it was a kind gesture, and that he does it for all the other neighbors.

Is she extorting him?

She also said $5 isn’t a lot of money and I could have just gave it to him.

I kept trying to explain that an agreement like that needs to be set up ahead of time otherwise it’s nothing more than a random demand for money.

She basically tuned me out and ended up walking away as I was talking.

This is getting weird.

I was amazed the adult in the situation was handling it worse than the literal child was.

I’m wondering how much longer this will go on for.

That was last week.

I don’t understand this reaction.

Every time I’ve seen her since, she’s stared daggers at me or made a show of crossing the street to avoid me.

I’m not instigating anything further – I really have no desire to speak to her – but I’m thinking she might try to send her poor kid back to collect the money, or even mow the lawn again.

I’ve vented about this to family and friends, and while most seemed to agree with me, some said I should have been grateful and paid the boy, and just told them from then on not to mow the lawn.

I can’t tell if I’ve been a jerk here, or if my reaction to the whole thing was entirely justified.

AITA?

This almost sounds like a scam to me, and I suspect the mom is taking the money.

Take a look at the comments and see what they have to say.

This person says that it is weird.