My SAHM wife always misses pick up, so I have a new plan for the late fees

"I can't get him because I work for a living. But I know what will get her attention."

A husband has implemented a financial penalty on his wife for always being late to daycare pick up.

In his post, which was so outrageous that it was captured in a TikTok, the man rants about his wife being the only one "responsible" for their four-year-old's schedule, because:

"I'm at work. I work for a living."

One could argue (correctly) of course that a SAHM also "works for a living" - and that's exactly what many told the frustrated husband.

They also told him he was right.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this. 

RELATED: Husband on more than $1 million won’t let wife be a SAHM

"I told my wife that late pick-up fees are on her, not me"

The husband begins by explaining that his wife is "chronically late."

"I could count on one hand when she's been on time. I used to find it humorous and almost endearing, but now we have a child, it causes me a significant amount of stress."

Their son started daycare last year, and the man says that as she's a "SAHM, dropping and picking him up is her responsibility."

According to him, she's late for both every day.

Image: iStock

In fact, he calculates she's been late on average 12 minutes a day. 

He arrived at that figure because they recently received for fees incurred for the first fortnight of September - which was a total of $262 USD ($385 AUD).

Explaining that the daycare has only just implemented the fines, he adds, "There's no doubt in my mind they started this because of my wife."

The 'breadwinner' has had enough, and because his wife refuses to discuss her tardiness, he's devised a plan.

"I'll continue to pay the daycare fees, but she needs to pay the fines out of her allowance of $800 ($1100 USD). She says she can't afford it."

He claims that she called the daycare to sort it out, then hung up on them. Eventually, she told her husband:

"Why don't you just pick him up, then?"

His response: "Because I work. I work for a living."

The daycare centre is now refusing to take the son back until the fees are settled.

"I feel for my son because he loves it and is innocent in this. Should I stick to my guns?"

RELATED: SAHM shares her dire ‘cautionary tale’ of not working

"No respect for employees with families"

The comments section of both social media platforms resoundingly sided with the dad.

"I've worked in a daycare and wife is 100% wrong. No respect for the fact the employees also have families and homes they want to get back to," one viewer noted.

Controversially, another said, "She’s not a stay-at-home mother if there’s not a kid at home to mother."

It was a common thought in the threads, but of course, SAHM's also need time to fulfill their other responsibilities.

There was also some concern about the dads's attitude to SAHMs in general, as this person pointed out: "I don’t like the idea of an ‘allowance’ for a SAHM. The moment you choose for one side to be a breadwinner and the other to maintain the household you also decide to share finances."

The overwhelming refrain, though, was confusion about the mum's tardiness reflecting her 'selfishness' towards others.

For example, this viewer shared, "I have ADHD, but I still know to show up on time. It’s about respecting other people’s time. My anxiety wouldn’t have it any other way."

Finally, there was one comment that tried to be fair to the mum, encouraging the husband to look more deeply at the issue:

"I'm chronically late and I understand that I'm making my own consequences, but time blindness is an aspect of several disabilities, so he could be supportive instead of demeaning her."

Originally published as My SAHM wife always misses pick up, so I have a new plan for the late fees