Man applauded for refusing to pay neighborhood child for mowing his lawn

For many kids below the minimum working age, a common way to make money is by babysitting or mowing lawns.

In a recent Reddit post shared to the popular “Am I The A**hole?” subreddit, one man explained that he recently bought and moved into his first house. He began to introduce himself to his neighbors, which included a 43-year-old woman and her 13-year-old son.

“I was on my couch one afternoon and saw the son outside, mowing my front lawn. I was confused since I’d never asked him to and he’d never offered. I went out and politely asked him why he was doing it - he said he did it for lots of neighbors, and quickly added they give him $5 for it,” the post read.

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

“I figured that might be the end of it - just a kid trying to make some money, resolved with no harm done, end of story,” the Reddit post continued. However, one day later the boy’s mother showed up on his doorstep questioning why her son wasn’t paid for his work.

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

“I kept trying to explain that an agreement like that needs to be set up ahead of time otherwise it’s nothing more than a random demand for money, but she basically tuned me out and ended up walking away as I was talking. I was amazed the adult in the situation was handling it worse than the literal child was. I’m wondering how much longer this will go on for,” he wrote.

He explained that every time he runs into the woman, she now “stares daggers” at him or goes out of her way to avoid him when he crosses the street. “I’m not instigating anything further - I really have no desire to speak to her - but I’m thinking she might try to send her poor kid back to collect the money, or even mow the lawn again,” he added.

After questioning whether or not he handled the situation correctly, many people turned to the comments section to defend him, as they explained the boy should have spoken to him before mowing his lawn.

“There needs to be communication before the kid does this sort of thing,” one comment began. “And you stopped him once you noticed what was happening. You didn’t wait for him to finish and then question him. You weren’t trying to get free work. What do the neighbors say/think? Maybe try to talk with them and get their input; they’ve been there longer. They all may be fed up with that family, also.”

Another commenter agreed, writing: “I totally get where you’re coming from. It’s super weird for a kid to just mow your lawn without you asking. Like, I wouldn’t want someone doing work for me and expecting money either.”

“It’s nice that he wants to help out neighbors, but that should definitely be something you discuss first. It’s not like you hired him, so why should you pay? The mom seems to be overreacting a bit, and honestly, she should be teaching her kid how to ask for permission first. You did the right thing by standing your ground. If she sends him back, just stick to your guns. You’re not being rude; you’re just setting boundaries.”