Divorced Parents Teach Their 16-Year-Old Son A Lesson After He Says Chores Are Only Done By 'Failed Men'
"We love our son with every fiber of our being, but he needs to know that some things just can not be allowed."
BearFotos | Shutterstock A dad recently discovered that his teenage son held a concerning opinion on household labor and gender stereotypes. Thankfully, he immediately took action, teaming up with his ex-wife to correct their son's misogynistic line of thinking.
The divorced parents decided to teach their son a lesson after he told them chores are only done by 'failed men.'
"I [have] a 16-year-old son with my ex," the 34-year-old dad began his post. "We had our son way too early in life; we lived on the same street growing up and knew each other from school."
He explained that both of their parents were extremely controlling and when they discovered she was pregnant, they forced the pair to get married. They expected her to become a stay-at-home mom while he worked to support their family.
"My ex and I, we hated each other for our stolen lives," the Redditor confessed. "We were never cruel to one another, and have never displayed any hatred in our house for our son's sake. But we slept in different bedrooms and avoided each other as much as we could."
Eventually, the couple divorced, and despite their unhappiness within their marriage, they now amicably co-parent their son and even consider each other friends.
The dad admitted that he didn't realize how much work goes into maintaining a home until after they divorced.
He noted that his wife was "a remarkable homemaker and an amazing mother."
"When we divorced, I had to learn all of this on my own. It was the first time I realized how much work goes into maintaining a house. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I had to look up YouTube tutorials on how to clean and cook," he confessed.
Srdjan Randjelovic | Shutterstock
Unfortunately, this dynamic is quite common within heterosexual marriages. According to data from the Pew Research Center, around 59% of women report doing more household chores than their spouse, showing that a significant portion of husbands are not contributing equally. It seems that their teenage son internalized this dynamic.
The dad learned that his 16-year-old held some outdated views on the division of household labor.
"A few weeks ago, I was ironing my and my son's clothes and told him that I want to teach him how to do this, as I don't want him falling into the same mistake I did and never learning this on my own," he recounted. "He said he doesn't want to and I just said he'll have to learn to do this at some point."
"He then said, 'Only failed men do stuff like this and I won't be one of them.'" The dad was baffled by his son's response and asked for clarification. His son doubled down, claiming that "this is a woman's job" and "only simps do simple household chores."
The man immediately reached out to his ex-wife and the pair decided to teach their son a much-needed lesson.
"I said, 'Well if you think this is a woman's job, it's time for you to live with a woman' and to pack his bag and to go to his mom's house, as I will not have any of that Andrew Tate [expletive] in my house," the dad recalled.
He then called his ex-wife to explain the situation and she completely had his back. Their son was moved to his mom's house, where he had a longer commute to school and was required to complete his share of household chores. The pair also had a conversation with their son about his misogynistic beliefs.
Boys must learn they are just as capable of doing chores as any woman. Even when they are married, they should not expect their wife to take care of everything and should pull their weight in their relationship, and eventually as parents. This is an especially important lesson given the conservative views teenage boys are being fed online today.
"We love our son with every fiber of our being, but he needs to know that some things just can not be allowed," the dad concluded. "He WILL be getting a fixed chore schedule, whether he likes it or not. No more coasting the easy life."
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.