Woman Gives Future Daughter-In-Law Advice On How She Should Do Her Son's Laundry
Instead of teaching her son's future wife how to do his dirty work, many people suggested that she teach him herself.
Evgeny Atamenenko / Shutterstock A mom believed she was being helpful by giving whoever her future daughter-in-law may be, advice on how to do her son’s laundry.
However, many people were quick to point out that her advice only perpetuates negative stereotypes and gender roles.
The woman advised her future daughter-in-law to fold his clothes inside out when doing his laundry.
In a TikTok video, the woman shared a message to her future daughter-in-law regarding her son’s laundry habits. Since her son is currently only 11 years old, she admitted to washing, drying, and folding his clothes for him.
However, he has one habit he cannot break when throwing his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. “When he takes his clothes off at the end of the day, he takes them off in such a way that every article of clothing ends up in his laundry basket inside out,” she explained.
“For 11ish years, I have been turning his clothes back the right way after I do his laundry before I put the clothes away.”
The woman admitted that folding her son’s clothes the correct way has become “such a pain in the [behind]” that she was already worried about her future daughter-in-law having to deal with it in the future. “I don’t want my daughter-in-law spending her entire marriage turning this boy’s clothes back the right way,” she said.
Believing that she was doing her future daughter-in-law a favor, she encouraged this imaginary woman to give his clothes back the exact way she received them, whether they were inside out or backward.
“Starting today, we are putting the clothes back exactly as we found them,” the woman said.
While she thought that she was being helpful to her future daughter-in-law, others did not perceive her statements that way.
Laura Danger responded to the mother’s video and pointed out that she was actually doing her future daughter-in-law a disservice.
Photo: FamVeld / Canva Pro
Danger advised the woman to teach her son how to correctly put his dirty clothes in the laundry basket instead of assuming that his future wife would do it for him. And while she's at it, just go ahead and teach him how to do laundry from sorting to folding.
She then shared a screenshot of a study conducted by Pew Research Center that detailed how boys and girls in their adolescent years spend their time, with girls doing the majority of chores while boys are involved in more leisure activities.
“By the age of 15, boys are spending more time on leisure activities than their female counterparts,” Danger shared. “On average, six hours a day versus girls who spend five.”
“On average, girls are doing just as much paid work (compared to boys) but twice as much housework, volunteering, and errands,” Danger added.
“If you don’t want your son’s future spouse spending more time doing his laundry, then don’t teach him that it’s his future spouse’s responsibility,” she said. “He’s capable. Treat him that way.”
Others echoed Laura’s opinions.
“My daughters won’t put up with a man who doesn’t do his own laundry. They’ve watched their Dad do his own and know that it’s an exception,” one TikTok user commented. “My son criticized how I did his laundry at age 10. Guess who learned how to do his own laundry that day. He is 14 now and I don’t touch it,” another user wrote.
“My future daughter-in-law does NOT need to worry about doing my son’s laundry,” another user shared.
Household chores should not be designated by gender roles.
According to Statistics Canada, most couples believed that women (61.1%) should be designated to do the laundry of everyone in the household. 46.2% believed that women should be in charge of all housework in general while 32.6% believed that they were in charge of washing the dishes.
For some families, these arrangements may work ideally for their families based on their work schedules, preferences, and division of household chores.
However, it should not be assumed that women will be in charge of household laundry, especially when men are more than capable of doing so.
Assigning specific household tasks based on gender roles reinforces traditional stereotypes. A wife doing her husband’s laundry may also lead to a strain in their marriage.
It is essential to foster a sense of partnership and teamwork to ensure that both individuals feel valued and supported in the relationship.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.