A Malaysian mother recently taught her son a hard lesson in accountability after he accidentally broke his friend’s spectacles.
Even though her son’s friend had forgiven him for breaking the spectacles — which cost RM370 — the boy’s mother decided he should still learn to take responsibility and pay for the damages, even if it was an accident.
“He needs to understand that he can’t just get away with things that easily.
After all, it’s not just about breaking something — our bigger worry is that one day, someone might get hurt,” Sue Mei Tai said in her Facebook post.
According to Sue, her son and his friend were arm wrestling when suddenly, her son’s head jerked forward and hit his friend’s spectacles, breaking them.
Refusing to let the matter slide, Sue asked her son about his plan to compensate for the broken spectacles — insisting that he personally discuss the repayment plan with his friend’s father.
Sue also brought up the incident with her three daughters, who agreed that he should be responsible for the damages. Two of the girls even contributed RM1.20 to help their brother offset the payment.
To help her son resolve the issue, Sue suggested assigning him additional household chores to earn extra pocket money.
Some of the chores included:
- Washing the dishes (RM2)
- Cleaning the toilet (RM2)
- Mopping the floor (RM2)
Based on this system, the boy was expected to earn around RM70 to RM80 per month, which meant it would take him approximately five months to repay the full amount of RM370.
Not wanting to delay the process, Sue also proposed that her son help clean his relatives’ homes to earn more money — estimating that the debt could be cleared in three months if things went smoothly.
When the boy tried to avoid some of the extra chores by suggesting an instalment plan or borrowing money from his father, Sue firmly rejected the idea.
In a twist at the end of the post, Sue revealed that she and her husband had actually spoken to the friend’s father beforehand, and he had agreed to accept RM200 instead of the full amount. Nevertheless, they insisted that their son personally call to apologise and discuss the repayment, as part of his learning process.
Netizens praised Sue’s method of instilling responsibility in her son, noting how many parents today often avoid taking accountability in similar situations.
“I really agree with this parenting approach. Scolding and punishing them every time doesn’t work — they just become numb.When they cause trouble outside, they should be the ones to handle it,” one user shared.
