A Louisiana mom is gaining international attention after making her son do free yard work around the neighbourhood as punishment for a school suspension.
Demetris Payne’s son, Jadarien, was suspended from school for three days for talking back to the teacher. When he came home from school she decided she wasn’t going to give him a mini vacation.
“I tried to think of ways to punish him that was more than taking away his phone or taking away video games,” Payne said. “I wanted to reach him.”
She took to Facebook, posted an image of Jadarien, who is in Grade 8, and offered to put him to work for free.
“My son has been suspended for three days from school for discipline,” Payne wrote. “He will do your lawn service, he will rake your yard, mow if you supply the mower, pick up trash, or wash your car for free. Maximum three hours.
Payne said she quickly received a dozen requests from people who saw the post. Her son’s free yard services were immediately booked up for the week.
“I didn’t think it would go as far as it did,” Payne said.
And neither did Jadarien.
“He didn’t think I was for real. I tend to baby him,” Payne said. But as soon as they pulled up to the first yard, Payne said he got to work and didn’t complain.
“He’s mowing his second yard. He’s not complaining about it,” she said in one of the Facebook videos.
After spending his suspension raking leaves and mowing lawns, Jadarien went back to school Tuesday.
“Look who’s back at school. Meeting with all his teachers and set up a plan so we can make sure he stays on track,” she wrote Tuesday.
“He came home yesterday and said, ‘you see what you have done, I am all over Facebook!’ But he had a big smile on his face,” she said.
Payne said this summer her son plans to clean yards for free for people living with disabilities.
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