I wasn’t ever given the option to refuse to work. From the time I was 12, my mother never did any housework at all. My one year younger sister and I had to do all the cooking, dishwashing, laundry, and cleaning.
At her age I did the whole family’s laundry. Regularly. And cleaned house, cooked meals, and washed dishes. Mom didn’t do any of those things anymore, my younger sister and I did it all.
My husband’s cousin was told by her mother to “hit him back.” So the next time the bully hit her, she grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. He never bothered her again. The problem is, you can’t exactly do that with somebody bigger than you.
My mother said the same thing, and it didn’t work for me either. In fact, the one worst bully only hated me the more for not giving him the reaction he wanted, so he tormented me more than anyone else.
You think teenagers are the only ones who don’t take things seriously? The kinds of smart aleck answers these kids are giving are exactly the same kinds of remarks I get from my husband when I ask him serious questions. It took nearly 30 years to finally figure out how to get a serious answer from him. I say, “OK, I’m taking that as a ‘yes’, (or a ‘no’, depending on the question)” then turn and walk away. He’s very quick to give me his REAL answer then!
What?!!! A rerun!