A dad has sparked a heated debate on social media after revealing he paid his nine-year-old son just $10 to mow their next-door neighbour's backyard. The father, identified only as Zak from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, shared a photo of his son hard at work using the neighbour's cordless mower, proudly announcing the boy had earned his first pocket money from the job.
“Taught son, nine, to mow, sent the neighbour $10 to pay him,” Zak wrote on Reddit. “Worked hard for a couple of hours; grassy, sweaty, and beaming with his $10 bill!”
However, the post quickly drew criticism from many Redditors who argued the young boy had been “ripped off.” One user commented: “Good job kid.....but I can't help thinking....you ripped him off. $10 to mow a lawn was a fair price when I was nine back in 1989. Sorry to be that guy.” Another added: “$10 in this economy!? That yard is huge haha. My dad paid me $20 in 1996.”
Jokes about the boy needing a union were also common, with one person writing: “This kid needs a union!” and another replying: “Was thinking the same thing. This was a valuable lesson in getting absolutely hosed, apparently.”
Not everyone agreed, however. Some defended the payment, saying $10 was plenty for a nine-year-old. “I got $5 bill each paycheck for literally all my chores, but if I didn't do them one week, I had to do them for free for a month.....wow. Never got paid to mow any yards,” one user shared. Another scoffed: “Everyone up in the comments with criticism over the pay scale for a nine-year-old are the same people leaving notes under the pillow for a tooth.” A third added: “$10 buys plenty in 2026 to a nine-year-old and is a good amount to learn about income and saving.”
Zak defended his decision in the comments, explaining that the $10 was a starting point and that he planned to teach his son negotiation skills for future jobs. “It will go up drastically,” he wrote. “$10 is the most he’s ever been paid, and he was planning on doing it without getting paid anyways. This way I can teach him to negotiate upwards and let them (neighbours) know as he gets older 'I get the edges, have the straightest lines…etc' and get much more.”
