Dad refuses to take son out to 'fundraise' by selling chocolate for school, 'this is total BS.'

The internet is a great place to settle an argument with a spouse (and potentially trigger an entirely new argument).

In a popular post on the AITA subreddit, a man asked if he was wrong for telling his wife to either take his money or she can be responsible for fundraising. He wrote:

"AITA for telling my wife to either take my money or she can be responsible for fundraising?"

My kid has to sell chocolate covered almonds as a fundraiser at school. I would rather just give them the amount he is going to raise but that isn't allowed. So I told my wife to just pay for two boxes out of my petty cash I keep on my office. I will take the almonds to work and give them out to my guys for free. My wife says that I'm missing the point and that I should take my son out to sell the almonds.

I think that is ridiculous. I think I have better ways to spend several hours than to harass my neighbors trying to get them to buy chocolate. I told her she could either go out and sell the chocolate herself or she could take my money. Now she thinks I'm an AH because I don't value her free time. She is a stay at home mom right now. When our youngest is two she will be going back to work.

I work 60 hours a week not including the commute. Now she wants me to spend hours out selling chocolate. No thanks. My free time is valuable too.

The internet had plenty of thoughts about the dynamic.

DozenBia wrote:

NTA these 'fundraisers' are complete BS. They combine child labor with the pressure to 'donate.' When I was in school, we did a 'fundraiser run' where we had to get family members to sign documents that they would give x amount per kilometer we ran, they money was supposed to go to a new hall for P.E.

Surprise surprise, I'm out of school for almost ten years now and there are no signs of a new hall yet. However, does your son want to participate in that? How old is he, can he not go down the street alone? If he is enthusiastic and too young to go alone, both of you could accompany him for an hour each (one side of the street with each of you) and 'sell' the rest of his almonds to your colleagues.

Heloise_Morris wrote:

The only AHs are the PTA or PTO that organized this fundraiser. No one wants to flog or buy a $10 roll of gift wrap, $15 dollar box of chocolate covered almonds, a $20 bucket of frozen cookie dough, etc. The school district my children attended banned these fundraisers a long time ago.

Maximum-Ear1745 wrote:

NTA. I hated selling chocolate around houses as a kid. Why does your wife care how the fundraising goal is met? You value your time enough to pay the required amount for the chocolate.

Honeyhwhite wrote:

NAH. I think both of your free time is valuable, and this can be a great teaching moment for your child. Sounds like maybe your wife just wants him out of the house for a few hours. It could be a really fun idea to explain to your son that you would like to do something nice for the guys you work with as a little thank you, and pick him up after school and bring him to your job to hand out the almonds.

Do a “bring your kid to work” thing, then maybe go for a hot chocolate after. Your son gets to see his dad at work and make a few people smile, you get to show off your kid while supplying chocolate to your guys, your wife gets him out of the house for a few hours, and you get a bonding experience he won’t ever forget.

My father did something similar with me when I was 6 or 7. I’m 43 now and still think about it sometimes.

This clearly a NAH situation, excluding the school.