Teens are always looking for ways to score some extra cash. Parents can sometimes feel more like an ATM than mom or dad.
When one teenager asked his dad for some money, he decided to take an unconventional approach. Instead of demanding he get a job or giving him an allowance based on chores, the dad made his son work for the money in a unique way that benefited his younger siblings.
The father agreed to give his teenage son a dollar for every compliment he gave his sisters.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 13 million times, the teen’s stepmother shared a clip of him requesting some cash from his father. The dad agreed but under one condition: “I’ll give you a dollar for every compliment you give one of your sisters,” he said.
The teenager immediately accepted the offer and quickly complimented each of his three sisters.
“Scarlett is very creative. Layla is very pretty,” he said.
While the dad handed him a dollar for the compliment to Scarlett, he advised against compliments that describe the girls’ physical appearance, urging the teen to focus on aspects of their personalities.
“Layla is very imaginative,” he said instead, earning himself a dollar.
“Vivian is a good friend to everyone,” he said of his third sister.
The boy then complimented his stepmom and dad.
“Caitlin is a great stepmom,” he said, though his dad insisted that he needed an exclamation point at the end of his sentence, rather than a question mark. The teen repeated the compliment with a bit more enthusiasm, earning him the money.
His compliment for Dad didn’t earn him any money, however.
“Dad makes us Benjamin’s,” he said, referring to the money in his hand.
The teen’s dad rejected his compliment since he is unemployed, and it is George Washington and not Benjamin Franklin on the $1 bill.
“You are a very hilarious guy,” he corrected himself. Still, his dad was unsatisfied and insisted he try again.
After spewing out another empty compliment, even claiming that his dad was “acting like a girlfriend” for not accepting them, the teen finally described his dad as “loving and supportive,” earning him another dollar.
“We are doing this now moving forward,” his stepmom Caitlin wrote in the caption of her video.
The dad’s creative money-making opportunity benefits both his son and his daughters who get to be reminded of their strengths by their brother.
Giving and receiving compliments has a profound positive effect on both parties.
“Being in the habit of giving compliments helps us notice and appreciate what’s good and what we like in those around us,” Marcia Naomi Berger, a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist told NBC News.
“It’s really easy to take one another for granted or only make a point of mentioning the negative things that need solutions,” she continued. “So making a concerted effort to notice all the good things about your partner (or family member or friend) is important.”
With siblings bickering more often than not, it is nice to see those who are extending kindness, even if it is just to earn a few extra bucks!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
