Man applauded for refusing to pay a neighbor’s child to mow his lawn

For many children under the minimum working age, babysitting or mowing lawns is a common way to earn money.

In a recent Reddit post shared on the popular “Am I the Asshole?” subreddit, a man explained that he recently purchased and moved into his first home. He began introducing himself to his neighbors, who included a 43-year-old woman and her 13-year-old son.

“One afternoon I was sitting on my couch and saw my son outside mowing my front yard. I was confused since I never asked him to do it and he never offered it. I walked out and politely asked him why he was doing it – he said he did it for a lot of neighbors and quickly added that they give him $5 for it,” the post reads.

The man told him that he appreciated the gesture but would not pay him because he never asked him to mow his lawn, which resulted in the boy leaving.

“I thought this might be the end – just a kid trying to make some money, solved without causing any harm, end of story,” the Reddit post continued. But a day later, the boy’s mother showed up on his doorstep and asked why her son wasn’t paid for his work.

He repeated the same response to her, but she responded by mentioning that her son mows all the neighbors’ lawns and “$5 isn’t a lot of money.”

“I kept trying to explain that such an agreement needs to be made in advance otherwise it’s nothing more than a random demand for money, but she basically ignored me and ended up walking away while I was talking. I was amazed that the adult in the situation handled it worse than the child in every sense of the word. I wonder how long this will go on,” he wrote.

He explained that every time he encounters the woman, she “stares at him with sharp eyes” or goes out of her way to avoid him as he crosses the street. “I’m not provoking anything further – I really don’t feel like talking to her – but I think she might try to send her poor child back to collect the money or even mow the lawn again,” he added.

After questioning whether he handled the situation properly, many people took to the comments section to defend him, stating that the boy should have spoken to him before mowing his lawn.

“Communication needs to happen before the child does something like this,” one comment began. “And you stopped him when you realized what was happening. You didn’t wait for him to finish and then question him. They didn’t try to get free work. What do the neighbors say/think? Maybe try talking to them and getting their input; they have been there for a long time. Maybe they’re all fed up with this family too.”

Another commenter agreed, writing: “I completely understand where you are coming from. It’s super weird that a kid would just mow the lawn without you asking. For example, I don’t want someone to work for me and expect money in return.”

“It’s nice that he wants to help the neighbors, but that should definitely be discussed first. It’s not like you hired him. So why should you pay? The mother seems to be overreacting a little, and honestly she should teach her child how to ask permission first. You did the right thing by standing firm. If she sends him back, just stick to your guns. You’re not being rude; You just set boundaries.”