Older sister tells mom her 14-year-old brother is using ChatGPT to do his French homework while mom spends money on a tutor: 'He hasn't spoken to me in a week.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Jul 6, 2026 11:45 AM EDT

She's trying to help him out because he won't help himself. 

Some kids never cheat in school. They are told from a young age that cheating is not only forbidden but also a particularly heinous offense, and they internalize that for all of their years of education. Other kids try to cheat, but get caught, get punished, and learn not to do it again. 

If you've ever cheated and technically gotten away with it, you know better than anyone that cheating hurts you in the long term, even though it feels like a quick fix, an easy solution in the short term. The same goes for cheating in relationships! It feels a lot harder to study hard or break up with your partner than it is to cheat, so it's common for people to do the latter to save themselves from uncomfortable emotions. If you cheat on all of the tests leading up to the final exam, you're going to fail the final exam, and there will be nobody to blame but yourself. The same goes for your relationship ending when your cheating is exposed. Even if it isn't found out immediately, it's going to get found out one way or another. Nobody is as good at lying as they think they are. 

Back when I was a kid, cheating was not worth it for numerous reasons, one of them being that cheating was almost harder than just doing the work yourself. In the age of AI, cheating has never been easier.

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  • 01
    A teenage boy uses ChatGPT to do his French homework so he can spend more time playing video games alone in his room.
    via Nicolò Canu

    A teenage boy uses ChatGPT to do his French homework so he can spend more time playing video games alone in his room. 

    Photo is a representation.

  • 02

    Am I the bad guy for telling my mom that my younger brother is doing his French homework using ChatGPT?

    I have a younger brother who is 14. It's summer now and my parents hired him a French tutor because he fell behind last year. He also has a huge problem - if left to his own, he could sit at the
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 03
    A tutor works with a high schooler on his French homework, unaware that the student isn't doing it himself but is instead relying on AI chatbots.
    via Juan Encalada

    A tutor works with a high schooler on his French homework, unaware that the student isn't doing it himself but is instead relying on AI chatbots. 

    The photo depicts a model. 

  • 04
    computer all day, playing games and never leaving his room, sometimes even losing meals. A week agi, I saw him working on a presentation for his tutor. He didn't however
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 05
    compose it. After typing content in English, he requested that ChatGPT convert it into French. Tutor told him on one of the lessons that he shouldn't do that, because the assignment
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 06
    was to use his own sentences, not machine translation. I asked him what he was doing. My brother said he wanted to finish quickly so he could go play. I told him that wouldn't help him learn
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 07
    French, I said it calmly without any reproach. He became enraged, shouted at me, saying it was none of my concern and said that I was behaving like a teacher. After that, I told Mom. Not
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 08
    just to tattle, but since he hasn't been learning anything and has spent the first month of summer hiding behind a screen, I was truly concerned about his indolence. Mom became upset, forced him to redo the presentation on his
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 09
    own, and set a daily computer time limit of two in the morning and two in the evening. Now my brother claims that I'm a snitch, that I wrecked his summer and he hasn't
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 10
    spoken to me in a week on. I feel bad about it because I didn't want him to have any restrictions applied on. But it's not simply French that worries me. He hasn't left his room much since the start of
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 11
    summer, has been playing video games for days on end and consistently attempts to avoid doing any tasks by being as lazy as possible. AITA?
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 12
    A teenage boy plays video games in his room instead of doing his French homework.
    via Kelly Sikkema

    A teenage boy plays video games in his room instead of doing his French homework.

    The photo represents this scenario. 

  • 13
    MulberryDiaz NTA. Honestly, you probably did him a favor. Learning that shortcuts have consequences at 14 is a lot less painful than learning it later when the stakes are much higher.
    via u/MulberryDiaz
  • 14
    Right-Opportunity371 Not to mention he's wasting your parents' money on a tutor if he's not doing the work himself.
    via u/Right-Opportunity371
  • 15
    Myrkana ΝΤΑ How did he think he was going to do anything in person or where he couldnt access ChatGPT? Your mom is spending the money on a tutor, she should know is he is wasting her money and the tutor's time.
    via u/Myrkana
  • 16
    leftofdanzig > How did he think he was going to do anything in person or where he couldnt access ChatGPT? He wasn't. Teenagers usually aren't putting much thought into long term plans. The goal was to go play video games, he isn't thinking much further than that.
    via u/leftofdanzig
  • 17
    AlexanderTami OP I also think that they deserve to know it. He really got all of these on him bc of his own actions
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 18
    Nelenne Funny how you "ruined his summer" when all you did was tell the truth.
    via u/Nelenne
  • 19
    AlexanderTami OP I tried my best to talk in private at first, it didn't work so I had no other choice
    via u/AlexanderTami
  • 20
    Pie-Guy NTA, The concern is, he has demonstrated that he is ok with cheating. That is, in my opinion, a personality trait. He will do it again given the opportunity.
    via u/Pie-Guy

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homework teenagers cheating family video games chat gpt french younger brother artificial intelligence tutor
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