Kids tend to act privileged because…well, they are. Most parents work hard to put a roof over the heads of their kids and give them the best things they can. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when kids come to expect those things.

There’s no one to “blame” for this, it’s just what happens.

But when kids take it to the next level and shame others for not having the same privileges that they do, it’s a whole new ballgame. And one Georgia mom realized her son might be on the cusp of that after she heard him making “snarky comments” about shopping at discount and secondhand stores such as Walmart and Goodwill.

In a now-viral Facebook post that she wrote in March of 2018 which has been shared 295k times from her page alone, Cierra Forney, of Auburn, Georgia told her friends and family about her son Anthony’s punishment. The post was originally private but after getting initially getting kudos for her actions, people asked if they could share it and eventually she opened it up to the public.

She began:

“So lately, my 13 year old son had been acting a little… entitled. Acting like he’s too good to shop at Wal-Mart or making snarky comments about kids at school who shop at the Goodwill and quite a few other things. I don’t tolerate that.”

So what’s a mom to do? Well, since each parent knows their own child best, she presumably did what she thought would leave the most lasting impression on him.

“Today, he took his own 20.00 to the goodwill to buy clothes to wear the entire week to school. Whatever he found is what he would have to wear. He isn’t happy and shed a few tears but I firmly believe in 15 years he will look back and laugh at the day his Mom made him shop at goodwill. I want to teach my kids that money isn’t everything and if you have to degrade other people because of where they shop, then you too will shop there. Side note, I love the goodwill!!”

Thirteen isn’t a very glamorous age, so bad behavior isn’t surprising, but it does need to be addressed, especially before bullying begins. Forney decided that having Anthony spend $20 at Goodwill to dress himself for the week – which is, let’s face it, STILL more than a lot of kids have – would teach him some empathy.

And, as she says, she loves Goodwill, so she likely knew he would find something great there.

And by all accounts, her plan worked. While Anthony was very unhappy at first, expecting the store to be “crusty,” he later admitted to the local Fox news channel that he had learned an important lesson he plans to share with his friends:

“Don’t be spoiled, I might just tell them to be thankful for what you have.”

Frankly, wearing pre-owned clothes isn’t a punishment at all and Anthony seems to know that now after finding many pieces to wear.

While Forney received plenty of criticism for her maneuver, she says she doesn’t regret it.

In a follow-up post she wrote:

“My son learned a valuable lesson from this and I believe it is just another story we can add to our lives memory to look back on. I didn’t do this to punish him. It wasn’t to show him that goodwill isn’t a good place to shop. I did this to teach him that money and name brands don’t change who we are as people. He can still be the amazing, adorable, loved kid that he is WITHOUT the expensive stores!”

She said both the positive and negative feedback had brought her to tears. But the criticism doesn’t matter.

“All that matters is my son is completely 100 percent okay with what happened. My son has learned a valuable lesson from this AND my son is rockin’ his button up shirt he bought from the Goodwill with PRIDE today!!!”

Be sure to scroll down below to see Forney’s original post as well as an interview with the pair.

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Source: Big fish via YouTube, Cierra Forney via Facebook, Miami Herald