“Always listen to mummy”: Kid who refused to take off mask for school photos gets $30k
Image: Facebook
If Nicole Peoples ever wondered whether her son followed her instructions when she’s not around, she now has her answer and a sweet photo as proof.
Mason Peoples refused to take his face mask off, even for his school photos. His mother told him only to take it off to eat and he knows to: “always listen to his mummy.”
Ms Peoples posted about the young boy’s exchange with the school photographer on her Facebook account.
When it came time for his photo to be taken, the photographer encouraged the first-grade student to take off his mask even for two seconds, but he politely declined.
“I said ‘No thank you, my mum told me I can’t’,” the boy told CNN proudly.
“We had a conversation at the beginning of school about the importance of safety and how germs can be spread if he didn’t have his mask on, so he makes sure to have it on at all times,” his mother told CNN.
“He’s very proud and he loves to show me how he’s followed the rules so that’s why he was so excited to come home and tell me about this picture story.”
“You should be proud!” said one of the Facebook commenters. “It has to be hard to stand up to an adult, but he had the confidence to stand up for what he thought was right. Good job mama!”
“What an incredible keepsake for this crazy era we’re living through” remarked another.
Ms Peoples said many people have reached out asking her if they could send her money to reward Mason’s diligence with a treat, so she set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of $7.
A total of AU$30,000 has been donated and will go towards Mason’s college fund.
His mother was thankful at the “outpouring of love”.
“Thank you for showing him honesty and integrity will make a big difference in this world,” she said.
Ms Peoples told CNN that Mason was taught to take the virus very seriously, especially after the death of her grandfather in January due to COVID-19 complications.
“He was a very significant part of our daily life, so Mason was impacted, they’ve seen it firsthand,” Ms Peoples said.