Mom Finds 9-Year-Old's Drawing of Her-Can't Help but Notice One Detail

A Utah mom couldn't help but laugh when she saw who her 9-year-old son had cast as the villain in his latest self-made comic book.

Stacy Goulding, a health educator, postpartum personal trainer and mom of three young boys, took to Instagram, posting under the handle stacylyn_coaching, to share a closer look at the latest issue of her son's self-penned comic series The Emerald Warrior.

This latest issue saw the character going up against arguably his toughest foe yet, the dreaded "no mom." It took Goulding all of half a second to realize who he based the villain on. She also knew the motivations behind it.

Goulding told Newsweek: "My son recently had a birthday and our sweet neighbor gave him a restaurant gift card. He kept asking me to take him, but it was tricky to find time to take him out to eat with all of our other commitments. We had already spent two days celebrating his birthday with family and friends."

In her son's comic, the villainous "No Mom" answers her three kids every request with a firm "no!" It's only thanks to the Emerald Warrior that the situation changes. He ambushes the family while they are out driving and sprays No Mom with a magic "yes" spray.

As a result every question her kids now ask "No Mom" is greeted with an enthusiastic "yes."

Goulding was blown away when her son first showed her the comic, which she describes as "creative and hilarious" even if the depiction of her constantly saying no is a little wide of the mark. "He’s a creative little guy," she said.

While Goulding loved showing her son's work off to the world on social media and has been heartened by the positive response it has received-over 17,000 likes on Instagram-what she loved more than anything was sitting down to read it with him.

"My son watched me read it aloud for the first time, and we both had a good chuckle," she said. "I could see he took pride in making me laugh. I told him I liked it, and thought it was well done."

Children use art as a non‑verbal emotional language, in 2023, an editorial published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology reviewing multiple studies concluded that children's drawings reliably reflect feelings, perceptions, and inner experiences, rather than realistic depictions of the world. Researchers described drawing as "a window into the child's inner world," allowing emotions to be expressed non‑verbally

Goulding appreciated how her son was able to find a creative way of letting her know how he felt, but she will continue to say "no" to her kids when the situation calls for it.

"Although I know I could improve in many ways as a parent, I don’t believe saying ‘no' is a bad thing," she said. "Our children need to hear no. We can’t indulge in every request. I know I’m not a ‘no mom.' I try to keep a balance of play, exploring, learning to work, growth and resiliency."

Goulding ultimately decided to share her experience to help other moms online realize "they're not alone in the trenches of motherhood."

"All parents have experienced situations when their kids are mad at them," she said. "Good parenting isn’t about being liked by your child 100 percent of the time. It’s about helping them develop in the ways they need even if that temporarily makes you the villain."

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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 6:59 AM.