Garbage man worried that his son was embarrassed by him finds overwhelming support online

All professions are equal and hold importance through the workings of our economic system and society. However, people often form opinions about certain jobs and fields and consider them better than others. While people working in the service industry, sanitation, or other low-paying jobs are considered less worthy. A father also faced something similar as he realized that his son might be embarrassed by his profession as a garbage collector. A Reddit user shared the story with the caption reading, "I think my son is embarrassed that I am a garbage man. Advice?"

He wrote, "I went to my son's school yesterday for parent career day and I was the last parent to explain my profession. I told the kids that I was a garbage man and I pick up their trash every day." The father shared that he noticed that when he was talking, he saw that his son "was looking down and looked embarrassed." He thinks it's because the parents of his classmates hold high-paying jobs, such as "lawyers, bankers, scientists and doctors." He further expressed that he works extremely hard to provide for every need of his son and they don't have much money. Hence, the father was a bit hurt when he saw his 10-year-old son keeping his head down and feeling embarrassed by his father's profession. He asked the SubReddit community for any advice he can follow to make this situation better and he received an overwhelming response.

Most Reddit users said that this could be a good opportunity to give his son a lesson about the importance of every profession. Reddit user u/redli0nswift said, "This is a great time for a lesson with your child about perception vs reality. Those Drs? Saddled with student loans. The bankers and lawyers? Poor work life balance. Explain to your son how you have it better or different than all of them." Another person u/Fomention suggested, "I bet there's a docu about a garbage strike and how whole cities collapse in a day or two without your very valuable services."

A Reddit user u/Beca2518 was in the same position as his son, so they offered another perspective saying, "I was embarrassed too - but Dad said he did that job so he could be home to spend time with us, and he didn’t have to travel for work. It took a while to realize that other kids Dads didn’t take them to sports in the afternoon or play backyard games. Now I tell my husband, the kids would be better if he keeps his job with shorter hours and we scrimp a bit so he can be with them." Some people asked the father to consider the fact that the child might not be embarrassed but might have been bullied by others in the school.

Reddit user u/AFocusedCynic said, "He might’ve gotten teased or bullied by classmates. I know it sucks but kids can be very mean sometimes. I would second the comments that suggest you sit down with him and explain the importance of what you do, the fact that (I’m guessing) you have a good work-life balance and can spend time with him while the doctors and lawyers parents probably do not have that luxury and the kids probably barely get to see their parent on a normal day."

Children have very fresh perspectives of the world and it is the people and situations around them which influence their feelings and opinions on certain professions. As several people in this thread suggested, situations like these can be turned into an opportunity to learn more and nurture mindsets that see the world equally.