TikTok mom faces backlash after charging her 9yo son gas money to pick up his birthday sushi: ‘The value of a dollar is being learned’

A mother on TikTok has been on the receiving end of some backlash after revealing what she did with her 9-year-old son’s birthday money from his grandma. The negative response from viewers and other creators led to her disabling comments, but the mother still believes she was in the right and has put forward her own argument, which might have made some rethink their initial outrage.

The video was originally shared by “@TryingMyFkinBest.” In it, she explains that her son got money from his grandma for his birthday and asked his mother if she could buy him sushi with the money. “I thought we were gonna have a bonding time and go get it together,” she says, but “he asked me if I could go get it. I told him he had to pay me gas money cause, you know, consequences.”

Gas isn’t cheap, but the mother’s comments rubbed many on TikTok the wrong way. They claimed she was the “worst” and that her parenting was “awful.” She also admitted in her vdieo that she had used her son’s money to buy herself snacks on her trip to fetch him sushi, which only made people more angry.

The mother’s response to TikTok

The mother responded to a few comments with videos explaining her reasoning. She argued that she was teaching her son “the value of a dollar” and that others simply didn’t understand her approach to parenting: “I know how our child learns,” she said in response to one comment. Responding to another comment, she asked, “So at what point do you teach children to go into the store, look for an item that they want, go to the checkout line, pay for it, and leave?”

Despite staunchly defending her actions, she ultimately decided to turn off the comments on her video, but relentless viewers continued to hound her on her other posts: “Since you turned your comments off on the other video, I just wanted to address you here. You said “cuz ya know, consequences” ….. consequences for what exactly?” one person asked.

The rebukes from TikTokers came in the form of video responses too, as TikToker Stellar_Brenn warned, “Expect the no contact at 18.” He also repeatedly expressed disbelief that the mother would charge her son gas money on his birthday, asking her, “What are you doing?”

While teaching kids about financial responsibility is certainly important, it seems the vast majority on TikTok believe that the mother went about it in the wrong way. It’s unlikely any amount of explaining or reasoning from her will change their minds at this point.