A teenage boy demands that his parents pay him for doing household chores and learns an important lesson.
Ethan pushed his plate away. “I’m tired of meatloaf,” he grumbled. “Can’t you cook something else?” he asked his mom.
His mom looked at him, annoyed. “We had roast chicken yesterday, burgers the day before, fish on Friday…”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever!” and got up from the table.
“Ethan,” his mom said. “Please wash your plate and put it in the dishwasher.”
“Why should I?” Ethan asked with typical teen attitude. “I’m not your servant!”
“Servant?” his mom gasped. “How is helping out being a servant?”
“You don’t pay me, do you?” Ethan said smugly. “Work without pay is unfair!”
Ethan’s dad frowned. “We take care of you, son,” he said. “We give you a home, food, clothes, and school…”
“That’s your job!” Ethan shot back. “The law says you have to, but I don’t have to do anything!”
Ethan’s mom’s face turned red. “So we have responsibilities, and you have rights? Is that what you think? What about your responsibility to help with chores?”
“I’m not your servant,” Ethan repeated boldly. “If you want me to do stuff, pay me!”
Ethan’s mom stood up, but his dad gently held her arm. “Pay you?” his dad asked calmly. “How much do you want for your chores?”
Ethan grinned. “I’ve thought about it. Taking out the trash, $1. Washing dishes, $2. Walking the dog, $4. Cleaning my room, $5. Cleaning the yard and mowing the lawn, $10. And you’re lucky I’m not asking for back pay.”
“Never!” Ethan’s mom said angrily, but his dad smiled calmly.
“Alright, Ethan,” his dad said. “We’ll pay you for your chores as you want. From now on, you’re a man, and we’ll treat you like one.”
Ethan stood tall. “About time you showed me some respect!” he boasted. His mom started to argue, but his dad smiled and stopped her.
“Alright, son, we start tomorrow,” his dad said. “I’ll put up a chart for your chores. You write down what you do each day. Every Friday, you’ll get paid. Sound good?”
Ethan grinned. “Perfect, Dad!” He walked away feeling great, not knowing he was about to have one of the worst weeks of his life.
A family works together to make life better for everyone.
Ethan’s mom turned to his dad. “James, how could you? He’s rude, lazy, and greedy. He needs to learn!”
James smiled, but it wasn’t a kind smile. “Don’t worry, Sarah. I have a plan. Our boy is in for a tough lesson.”
The next day, Ethan came home after football practice. He was starving. “Hey, Mom!” he called. “What’s for dinner?”
“Turkey pie with sweet potatoes and peas,” his mom said with a sweet smile.
“Awesome!” Ethan said. “I’m so hungry!” He saw the chore chart on the wall and marked that he’d walked the dog and cleaned his room. Later, he’d take out the trash.
That’s $9 already, Ethan thought happily. I’m gonna be rich! An hour later, the smell of food brought him back to the kitchen. His parents were eating dinner.
“Mom!” Ethan said, upset. “You didn’t call me, and I said I was hungry!”
His mom smiled, and his dad said, “Ethan, since you’re earning money now, you need to pay for things. If you want your mom to cook for you, you have to pay her.”
“Pay her?” Ethan yelled. “No way!”
“Then use your savings to order takeout,” his mom said, still smiling.
“That’s not fair!” Ethan shouted and stormed upstairs. He ordered a pizza that cost $15, plus delivery and a tip. He figured it would take three days of chores to pay for it. Being a “man” was expensive!
The next morning, he smelled bacon and eggs. “Hi, Mom,” he said nicely. “Can I have my eggs over easy?”
“Sure!” she smiled. “That’ll be $6 for breakfast.”
“You’re charging me for breakfast?” Ethan said, mad. “That’s not fair!”
Then came another shock. “Dad,” Ethan said, “our coach says we need new team jerseys. They cost $69.99.”
“I see,” his dad said, smiling. “Why are you telling me?”
“So you can give me the money!” Ethan said.
“Ethan,” his dad said, still smiling, “since you’re earning money, you pay for your own things, like clothes. Didn’t you know?”
“I don’t have $70!” Ethan cried. “Where am I supposed to get that?”
“Save up from your chores,” his dad said. “That’s what we do.”
Ethan was shocked. He had to buy his own food and clothes? This wasn’t what he expected. “Fine,” he said. “Dad, can you drive me to school? I’m running late.”
“Sure!” his dad smiled. “That’ll be $5.50.”
“You’re charging me for a ride?” Ethan gasped.
“You’d pay for a taxi, right?” his dad said reasonably.
“But you’re my dad!” Ethan shouted.
“Oh, Ethan,” his mom said sweetly. “That reminds me—$12.50 for washing and ironing your clothes.”
Ethan walked to school and was late. At lunch, he ate cafeteria food and missed his mom’s meatloaf, mac and cheese, and Irish stew.
That night, Ethan came to dinner looking sad. His parents were eating, and the food smelled amazing. His stomach growled. “Mom, Dad?” he said quietly. “Can we talk?”
“Sure, son,” his dad said. “What’s up?”
“I’m sorry about the payment thing,” Ethan said. “I didn’t think about all you do for me every day, and you never ask for anything back.”
“We hoped you’d see that,” his mom said. “We do these things for you because we love you, not because we have to.”
“I know, Mom. I’m really sorry,” Ethan whispered, his eyes wet.
His dad hugged him. “Son, in a family, we help each other to make life better. That’s what family means.”
His mom hugged him too. “How about some dinner? I made cottage pie and green beans—your favorite!”
That night, Liam had one of the nicest evenings ever with his parents, and he learned one of the most important lessons: to appreciate all that his parents do for him and to do his part in helping his family.
