Once upon a time, there lived an old gentleman who was greatly tormented by his entitled neighbors. And one fine day he figured out how to make sure that every glance at his house would spoil the neighbors' mood. He took several buckets of paint and painted his house pink!
As the years passed, the old gentleman finally passed away, as did most of the neighbors who didn't like him - and this geezer's son put the old house up for sale. The buyer turned out to be a guy who wasn't actually afraid of the prospect of a long renovation, but the only thing that remained unchanged from the old owner was the pink walls.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post bought a house painted pink many years ago - and left the color unchanged
Image credits: Justin Henry (not the actual photo)
The seller told him that it was his late dad's house and the old man had painted the walls pink in order to annoy his neighbors
Image credits: u/Wild-Argument-308
Now the author and his wife have 3 kids: a teen son and 2 younger daughters
Image credits: Alena Darmel (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Wild-Argument-308
So the boy really hates the pink walls and urged the dad to pick another color when the parents wanted to do some repairs
Yes, the Original Poster (OP), the user u/Wild-Argument-308, now lives in this house with his wife and their three children: two daughters and a teen son. Now let's try to guess - which of the five family members hates the pink color of their house? That's right, the author's son.
Apparently, the boy grew up with the idea of taking a bucket of paint and repainting the walls - but his dreams weren't destined to come true until the original poster decided to give their house a complete overhaul. But, to the kid’s regret, the parents decided to leave the walls pink!
The boy tried to protest, but his parents rejected his requests to repaint the walls - after all, this is their house, and all the other family members had nothing against the pink color. According to the parents, when the house becomes the property of the kids, they can make decisions about painting, but not now.
The original poster's mother-in-law tried to put pressure on him and his wife, arguing that it would be embarrassing for a 13-year-old boy to live in a 'Barbie house', but the author honestly asked his son if his peers teased him about this. He replied that they hadn't, but he just hated the pink walls and wanted a 'normal' color.
Well, for now, apparently, the kid will just have to accept it - to the delight of his 8 Y.O. and 10 Y.O. sisters, because they don't mind living in the 'Barbie house.' Especially after the stunning success of the Barbie movie.
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
“Yes, it’s not surprising that a 13-year-old boy isn’t happy to live in a pink house - after all, this is that formative age period when every teenager fears bullying for literally every little thing,” says Irina Matveeva, a psychologist and certified NLP specialist, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here. “Unfortunately, there have been cases of bullying for much more petty reasons. However, so far his fears, in his own words, are groundless.”
“However, this is also the age when one should learn to respect the decisions of their elders, to whom, in fact, the house belongs. And if all other family members like the pink color of the walls, then this should be respected. In the end, the father correctly noted, when the children become the owners of this house themselves, then they can change something. In the meantime, the boy can try to be proud that his house is in fact so unique,” Irina ponders.
By the way, the perception of pink as something ultimately 'girlish' appeared only at the beginning of the last century - and before that, pink, on the contrary, was perceived in Western society as assigned to boys. So the perception of colors changes over time - especially since all color prejudices are nothing more than a convention. Just take a look at Leo Messi scoring goal after goal in the pink Inter Miami jersey in Major League Soccer!
Commenters on the original post also sincerely believe that nothing terrible is actually happening here. "I think your son will mature to understand that pink is not an embarrassing color, and honestly your MIL should too," one of the commenters wrote. "Also your MIL should respect your decisions in parenting and about your house."
After all, according to most people in the comments, this is how democracy works. "He can make the decisions when it’s passed down to him. 4 against 1. The 'voting' was fair and square. He’ll live just like he has been in that house for all of his life," another person added wisely. So what do you, our dear readers, think about this situation?
People in the comments, however, told the author that he is right here as he's actually the owner of the house and not his son
Image credits: Bart Everson (not the actual photo)
