A TikTok mom filmed herself berating her teen son for leaving a $10 tip on a $104 check, sparking debate among viewers

• A mom shouted at her son for not leaving a larger tip at a restaurant in a viral video.
• She said her son left a $10 tip on a $104 check, so she demanded he return and give them $20.

A mom caused a stir in the comments of TikTok after she shared a video shouting at her 16-year-old son for not leaving a larger tip at a restaurant.

TikToker Danielle Foster shared a video on February 14 with an on-screen caption that said her son had been to a restaurant on a first date and said he'd received "good service" and tipped "a lot of money" which she wrote transpired to be $10 on a $104 check.

"You need to go to the ATM, and you need to go grab a 20, and drive your ass back to that restaurant, because on a $104 check, $10 is a shitty tip, do you understand me?" Foster could be heard shouting from behind the camera as she addressed who appeared to be her son, who stood smiling at her. "Go now. I'm not asking, I'm telling. It's not funny," she said.

In the video, Foster could be heard saying the person who served her son may have kids, and would be taxed. "You don't know how to tip!" she could be heard saying at the end of the video. The caption of the upload read, "legit he's driving his ass back there I'm so sorry legit I raised him better than this."

The TikTok received over 2.2 million views, and 15,000 comments which debated whether Foster's approach was the right one.

"Good job Mama! I have talked to my kids in detail about how they better tip good when they start going out," one comment read, which received over 3,300 likes.

But another comment, which received 118 likes, read, "Imagine publicly shaming your kid for likes because he left what is socially acceptable as a tip."

In a follow-up video posted on February 24, Foster responded to the comment directly and addressed the camera. In the video she said her son "doesn't feel publicly shamed," adding, "how I decide to parent the kid that came out of my body and that I pay for is really not your problem."

She continued by saying she did not need to make this video for likes, as she already had 19,000 followers on the app, and asked that they rewatch their original video, "because $10 on a $104 check is not socially acceptable," she said.

Foster also addressed a comment criticizing her for screaming at her son, asking him, "Do I yell when I talk all the time?" followed by, "Why? Because I'm nuts?" to which he responded, "No, we're from New Jersey."

Foster said in another video posted that same day that she had worked as a server before she married her now-husband when she was a "single mom" which is why she was passionate about the topic. She also said she "felt bad" for filming the interaction and had apologized to her son, as well as telling him not to look at the comments as people were "saying stuff that was negative." She said her son was a good kid who undertipped because he was confused about the appropriate amount as he'd partly paid the check with a gift card.

In 2014, writer Tim Urban created a tipping chart for his website Wait But Why, based on interviews he had conducted with service workers, and research from a tipping expert. He concluded the average tipper leaves a tip between 15% to 20% of the check, with an average tip for a server sitting between 17-20%, and advised tippers "never go below 15%," Insider reported in 2019.

Foster did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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