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Sometimes parents try to motivate their kids to do well in school by offering rewards if they get certain grades. For example, maybe they pay the kids for As on their report card. But should kids get punished if they don’t get As?

In this story, a dad takes his two sons to a sandwich shop. It seems like it’s a reward for the older son getting an A. But the younger son didn’t get an A and didn’t get the reward. It almost seems like a punishment because he didn’t just miss out on the reward but he had to deal with teasing from his big brother about it while he just watched and waited.

Is this bad parenting?

Let’s read the whole story to decide.

How to spot the kid who is going to have some issues as an adult.

About a year ago I was at the cash register at the sub shop I work at when a family comes in. Nice looking family, Dad and two sons about 12 and 10.

The Dad asks the 12 year old ‘Alright, Buddy, what would you like?”

The 12 year old orders a sandwich and then the Dad orders one for himself.

I look at the 10 year old, who turns to his Dad and says ‘I really want a sandwich, Dad.”

But he’s not getting a sandwich.

“Then you should have got an A on your project.” He mumbles towards the kid.

“But I got a C.” The little kid says but the Dad ignores him and keeps looking at me.

I stare at him confused and tell him his total.

He pays and they get their food.

He feels bad for the kid.

Once again, the kid asks for a sandwich.

The Dad tells him he can have left overs when he gets home.

To my shock, Dad and older brother eat their food at the restaurant with this little kid just looking on.

The older brother is teasing him with his food (I have a sandwich and you get left overs, haha!) and the Dad is too busy on his phone to really care.

I know this isn’t child abuse and I don’t know their lives and stories but damn…that was cold.

Why was the younger brother even with them? That’s cruel. It would’ve been better for the dad to take the older brother just the two of them to get the sandwich if it’s some sort of reward. Making the kid watch and wait is just plain mean.

Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

Perhaps there’s a better way of rewarding children than with food.

This person thinks it’s abuse.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a single person who is dumbfounded when her friends insist couples count as one person when splitting a check.

Another person was in a similar situation to the younger brother.

But this person doesn’t see a problem.

I think the problem is that the younger brother had to tag along. It’s perfectly fine to reward the older brother for a job well done, but it’s sad to make the younger brother sit there and wait. I don’t think it’s an issue of not feeding the boy. They may have some amazing leftovers at home, but having to wait patiently while you watch your older brother enjoy something you wish you could have, that seems cruel.