When a Neighbor Broke a Promise to My Son, I Taught Him a Lesson About Fairness

When my 12-year-old son Ben agreed to shovel our wealthy neighbor’s driveway for $10 a day, he was excited to earn money for Christmas gifts. Every morning before school, he worked through the cold, dreaming of buying his sister a dollhouse and saving for a telescope.

Just before Christmas, the neighbor refused to pay, calling it a “lesson about contracts.” Ben came home heartbroken, confused why someone would cheat a child. Furious, I confronted the man, but he refused to change his mind.

The next morning, our family took action. We cleared our driveway and sidewalks—and piled every shovel of snow back onto his pristine driveway, undoing Ben’s work. Faced with watching neighbors and public shame, the man finally returned that evening with an envelope of cash and an apology.

Ben learned something far more valuable than money: hard work matters, and standing up for yourself does too.