Dad baffled by 10-year-old son's math homework question. But the kid outsmarts it, winning the internet

A seemingly innocent math question from a 10-year-old’s homework has ignited a storm of confusion and debate online, leaving a U.S.-based father—and thousands of Reddit users—scratching their heads. The frustrated dad took to the internet for clarity, posting the puzzling equation in a parenting forum, only to find that his suspicion was valid: the question simply didn’t make sense.

The offending homework read: “Kayla has 18 bottles of bubbles. She wants to give two bottles to each of her six friends. How many bottles will she have left over?” Straightforward, right? Not quite. The multiple-choice options that followed did anything but simplify the riddle.

The Faulty Four
Students were asked to identify which of the following expressions correctly solved the problem:
A) (18 ÷ 2) ÷ 6
B) (18 ÷ 2) + 6
C) (18 × 2) – 6
D) (18 × 2) + 6

For the dad, who admitted he was “curious how they came to this answer,” the issue was obvious. “None of the options seemed right,” he wrote. “I was expecting it to be 18 – (6 × 2).” And he wasn’t alone.

What followed was a flurry of attempted justifications, math gymnastics, and widespread agreement from fellow users: the worksheet was flawed.

Reddit Weighs In: “Mental Gymnastics” and Broken Logic
From seasoned math enthusiasts to fellow parents, the Reddit community dived into the confusion, each trying to decipher how any of the options could be valid.

“I think it’s more likely a typo or misprint,” one user hypothesized, attempting to rework option C into a more sensical form. Another noted that simplifying A leads to 1.5, “which doesn’t make any sense in the context of the problem.”

Some, however, refused to give up and tried to rationalize option A, describing elaborate but ultimately flawed logic: “She’s splitting the 18 bottles into sets of 2; that’s 18 ÷ 2. Then, she’s splitting those sets of 2 among her 6 friends.” The conclusion? The logic may exist, but it's "bad logic," as one commenter bluntly put it.

The 10-Year-Old Was Right All Along
After watching the internet collectively puzzle over his son’s homework, the dad returned with a satisfying update: “The worksheet is indeed wrong.”

According to New York Post, he revealed that he had spoken with the teacher, who later addressed the problem in class. To her credit, the teacher acknowledged the mistake and commended the child’s correct approach: solving it as 18 – (6 × 2), which equals 6 bottles left over.

As for the 10-year-old? He penned his own answer beneath the confusing question: “None. 18 – (6 × 2).” With that, the case was closed—by a primary schooler.

More Than Just a Math Problem
This viral moment has struck a chord far beyond a single confusing question. In an era where children are increasingly expected to decode complicated logic in the name of standardized testing, many are asking whether we’ve lost sight of clarity in education. For now, though, one young student, with a sharp mind and a skeptical eye, has reminded the world of a simple truth: sometimes the kids really do know better.