Mom’s Viral Post Explains Why Son Isn’t ‘Too Manly’ To Cook And Clean

In the caption for the photo, Paulun explained that she teaches Lyle to cook and do chores “because household work isn’t just for women.”

The mom listed many other reasons why she wants her son to learn these skills:

“Because one day he might be a single man, living on his own, who will actually know how to do laundry and not eat take out every night. Because one day he might want to impress a significant other with a meal cooked by his own hands. Because one day when he has kids and a spouse, he’s going to need to do his fair share around the home. Because I live in a generation of people who complain that school didn’t teach us how to cook, do laundry, tie a tie, or pay taxes. Because teaching my son how to do these things and be a productive member of society both outside the home and inside, starts with ME. Because it’s okay to let your child be a child but still teach them lifelong lessons along the way.”

Paulun added that she wants these lessons to shape the kind of person Lyle grows up to be.

“My son will never be too ‘manly’ to cook or do chores,” she wrote. The mom also challenged the gender stereotypes that divide everyday tasks ? relegating women to chores like cooking and cleaning and men to more mechanical work. 

“[My son] will be the kind of man who can come inside from changing a tire to check on his pot roast. Who can properly sort his laundry and mow the lawn too,” she wrote. “Remember parents, a man who believes he shouldn’t have to cook or do chores was once a boy who was never taught any better.”

The pointed Facebook post received over 140,000 likes and 56,000 shares.

Paulun, who appeared on season two of MTV’s “16 And Pregnant,” followed up in the comments section with a photo of Lyle on the couch.