On the patio table sat a clipboard with a list of chores: scrubbing, hauling, cleaning. According to the chart, my kids had to finish the tasks before they could “earn” privileges like swimming, watching TV, or using their phones.
And where were their phones? Locked away by my sister-in-law.
When I demanded answers, she claimed the kids had “volunteered” to help and insisted she was simply “teaching them character.” But when I pulled my daughter aside, she whispered the truth: if they didn’t obey, they’d lose their spending money and be forced to sleep in the garage.
That was it. I packed my children’s bags, demanded their phones back, and told my sister-in-law exactly what I thought of her “character-building.”
Later that week, I sent her an invoice for unpaid child labor. She didn’t argue — she paid it immediately. I used every cent to take my kids on a carefree trip to the amusement park, where the only work required was laughing and having fun.
That summer, my children learned something more valuable than money: fairness matters, real work deserves respect, and their mom will always fight for them. And I learned to never ignore my instincts when it comes to protecting my kids.