Every parent thinks they know best — until their kid outsmarts them.

When one 9-year-old asked for a house key after getting routinely locked out of the house, his mother decided he just wasn’t ready.

But when he was forced to sit outside for hours in full view of the neighbors, his mother’s embarrassment finally made her change her tune.

Read on for the full story!

Childhood Malicious compliance

When I was 9 (in the early 90s), we lived in a small countryside village, so I walked the 3/4 of a mile to school every day.

Both of my parents worked, and since my mother was a teacher, she was usually home in time for when I got back.

However, one day she wasn’t in, and I was locked out.

Luckily, he had another place to wait.

So I headed to my friend’s house around the corner—he had Mario 3 on NES.

An hour later, when I got home, I was admonished by my mother for almost being late.

Even at 9, he knew exactly the solution to this persistent problem.

So I asked for a key to the house—a request I believed was perfectly reasonable.

His mom wasn’t too keen on it though, so the locking out just kept happening.

Spoiler alert: request denied. “You’re too young for a key to THIS house!”

A week or so later, I was locked out again.

This time, he didn’t have anywhere else to go, so he was forced to just sit outside.

My friend wasn’t in, neither were the others nearby, so I sat on the front door welcome mat and waited.

I waited two and a half hours for my mother to return from my little brother’s dental appointment—the entire time sitting on the front doorstep.

Appalled, his mother finally started to see things his way.

Apparently, having your child sitting on the doorstep for several hours in clear view of the neighbors is very embarrassing!

The best part? My old man found it hilarious, as he was routinely irritated by my mother’s utter obliviousness to anyone’s schedules.

I had a key by the weekend.

Turns out, all it took was a little embarrassment to move things along!

What did Reddit think?

The pros of your child having a house key almost always outweigh the potential cons.

Shame is a heck of a motivator!

Making dumb mistakes as a kid is just part of growing up.

Persistence really paid off for this kid!

Ultimately, embarrassment was a stronger motivator than logic.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.