Viral: Georgia mom teaches son valuable life lesson

BRASELTON, Ga. - A Georgia mother's Facebook post about teaching her son a valuable life lesson has quickly gone viral. 

Cierra Brittany Forney, of Braselton, said her 12-year-old son had been acting a little "entitled" lately, which is something she won't tolerate. 

"Acting like he's too good to shop at Walmart or making snarky comments about kids at school who shop at the Goodwill and quite a few other things," Forney said on Facebook on Sunday. 

Forney had her son take his own money, $20, to the Goodwill store in Hamilton Mill to buy clothes to wear to school this week. 

"Whatever he found is what he would have to wear," she said. "He isn't happy and shed a few tears, but I firmly believe in 15 years he will look back and laugh at the day his Mom made him shop at Goodwill." 

Forney said she wants to teach her children that money isn't everything. 

"And if you have to degrade other people because of where they shop, then you too will shop there," she said. 

The mother shared a photo on Facebook of her son shopping at Goodwill, and it's garnered more than 529,000 likes and nearly 200,000 shares. She told FOX 5's Katie Muse she never imagined her post would go viral, and she's connected with many other moms who share the same goal of raising good people. 

"I was mad because I didn't want to shop there at first. I thought I was going to look kind of crusty or something," 12-year-old Anthony Forney told FOX 5’s Portia Bruner.

"I didn't do this to punish him. It wasn't to show him that Goodwill isn't a good place to shop. I did this to teach him that money and name brands don't change who we are as people. He can still be the amazing, adorable, loved kid that he is WITHOUT the expensive stores!"

Forney went on to say she loves shopping at Goodwill stores, and she has an amazing relationship with her son. 

"My son has learned a valuable lesson from this and my son is rockin' his button-up shirt he bought from the Goodwill with pride," she said on Tuesday. 

"I didn't want to be there, but it really did change me. I realize I was just being a brat and you should just be thankful for what you already have," the 6th-grade student said.