A mother said she learned a valuable lesson from her 19-year-old daughter.
Reddit user u/soil_witch shared an inspiring lesson she learned from her teen daughter about ‘standing up for yourself.’
“I’m really proud of my daughter. She was offered $9/hr at an interview today and she declined telling them she couldn’t feed herself with that,” the mum wrote.
“She told me she was polite about it, which she always is, but I was still a bit taken back initially that she would say this directly to the shop owner,” she admitted.
OP added that her daughter is a shy girl in general, but she didn’t hesitate to stand up for herself and reject an offer that wasn’t worth her time and effort.
“It was somewhere she really wanted to work and has been going to since she was a kid. The shop owner who interviewed her acknowledged that it wasn’t a living wage and apologized that they couldn’t offer more. I realized the reason I was so surprised wasn’t just because my daughter is generally a bit shy and always non-confrontational, but because this goes against the societal norms I grew up with.”
The mum continued, “I’m 41 and when I was her age I would’ve taken any sh*t pay they offered me just for the experience and so I could work at my favorite shop. And I would’ve been grateful for the opportunity for them to take full advantage of me. I would’ve never had the confidence to stand up to an older adult in a position of power like that. I told her I was so proud of her for knowing her worth and not accepting anything less.”
OP said she’s glad her daughter respected herself, knew her worth, and didn’t sign up for a shit job that couldn’t pay her a decent salary. She also said parenthood is a constant learning experience, and every parent should be open-minded when it comes to learning new things from their kids.
“This sub has made me realize that we ALL have to do this. At every interview, every job. I just accepted a new position recently and now I wish I would’ve negotiated for more,” she said. “I will now the first chance I get. We can no longer accept the status quo of working for less than a living wage. And not just for ourselves, but for all of us. Employers CAN pay us more and they WILL despite all their bullsh*t excuses that claim otherwise. But we have to force their hand, they won’t do it willingly.”
The mum’s post was upvoted by more than 41K people on the platform, and nearly one thousand people commented, saying she was absolutely right and should continue to support her daughter in her life choices.
“You should be proud! She’s going places. Tell her strangers on Reddit are grateful for her tactful yet honest response. And what job that intends to pay NINE dollars per hour have SECOND interviews!?!” one wrote.
“man I’m 21 and I don’t know that I’d have the guts to be that upfront–even though she’s totally in the right!! so happy for her,” said another.
“You gotta stand up for yourself cuz no one else will,” a third commented.
“Maybe this is truly ‘the way.’ Making our kids accustomed to not accept shit pay, then maybe it can become the new normal. Kudos to her!” a fourth commented.
“I’m 38. I feel this and I am really proud of Gen Z for standing up to the BS that most of us were fed from birth.” Another wrote.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Source: Reddit
