In a post on Reddit’s popular r/AmITheA**hole forum on Wednesday, user u/phileo56 shared the story which has since received thousands of upvotes and comments.

He explained: “It’s summertime so while Mom and I work, our three kids are at home, ages 8-15. We were talking with other parents about what our kids do during the day and some friends were shocked that I was being so strict during summer break. Here’s why. They have to do chores every day.”

The three children are given daily chores across the week, the dad explained that they include daily cleaning of the bathroom, bedrooms, playroom and any dishes. Meanwhile, extra chores are assigned for specific days. On Monday, they have to wash, fold and put away their laundry. On Tuesdays, they sweep and vacuum. Wednesdays they mow the lawn and weed in the garden and on Friday they sweep and vacuum again.

Alongside the list of daily chores, the dad also explained that he sets them an exercise goal. “Monday to Friday, they wake up and run one mile and have 15 minutes to do it,” he wrote: “If they don’t do it in 15 minutes, nothing happens, I’m just giving them a very achievable goal.”

Additional rules in the household include that all electronics are turned off from 12:30 p.m. until the parents return home from work at 4:30 p.m.

“We have a pool and they have so many toys, they have plenty of things to do that don’t include electronics,” said the dad. “They have to complete the chores by 4.30 pm so they spend the morning playing Xbox or watching TV, eat lunch, then they do chores and entertain themselves.”

Explaining the well-organized summer break plan, he wrote: “I don’t want my kids just sitting in front of a screen all day because it’s not healthy. Being forced to use your imagination isn’t a bad thing as far as I’m concerned. I want them to run because they all play sports and they get gassed out rather quickly. I’m trying to equip my kids the best way I know how.”

But the parents had received comments from other parents about how they felt their organized schedule was unreasonable, telling them that the summer break should be about relaxing. As a result, they took to the internet to get some extra opinions.

There is research that says giving your children chores to do is a positive thing. A study published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics in 2019 reported data on children and their perceived interest or competence in academics, relationships and their life satisfaction. The results found that those who did more chores in kindergarten rated higher for social, academic and life satisfaction by the time they reached the third grade. Meanwhile, children who rarely performed chores scored lower in self-reported academic ability, relationships and life satisfaction.

Research also shows that down time is incredibly important for children—with neurologists and psychologists saying that pushing kids to be constantly learning and practicing is not good for them.

Psychologist Lea Waters wrote the book The Strength Switch where she highlights the importance of relaxing for children’s development and mental health, stating that slowing down actually helps children to reach their full potential and advocating that kids should be given time to “goof off.”

The internet rushed to the comments to share their thoughts on the parent’s regime: “YTA, be a parent and not a drill instructor,” said one commenter.

Meanwhile, another reply said: “Let no one tell you how to raise your kids, but I am just crazy glad you are not my parent. You sound horrible.”

“Some chores are fine. This is extreme,” said another Redditor.

Another commenter said: “Structure is good… too much structure produces adults who are incapable of making decisions on their own. Find that balance.”

Newsweek has reached out to u/phileo56 for comment.