Should You As A Parent Ask Your Children To Pay a Rent? Here Is An Answer

Some people might think it's not a good idea to ask your own children for rent, but if you look at the situation from a different perspective, you will understand why it's necessary. Living at their parents' house without rent means they don't have to get out of their comfort zone and worry about anything in life.

Asking for rent will make the child step out of the house and look for a job. They will feel motivated to put their skills to use and build a career while realizing that it's not easy to earn money and pay bills. These youngsters will also realize the importance of hard work and learn to spend their money the right way.

MOTHER ASKED HER DAUGHTER TO PAY RENT

This post by "the worst mother in the world" on Mumsnet stirred up a discussion on whether it's right to ask your child for rent. She asked her 16-year-old daughter to pay £50 as rent after she started earning £14,500 per year from an apprenticeship. Unfortunately for the mother, her daughter reacted unexpectedly.

The 16-year-old doesn't have to pay for anything except her lunch, but that is optional since she can take food from home. Her mother asked her to hand over £50 per week in exchange for daily meals, laundry, unlimited hot water supply, pick and drop service, and other benefits. The post continued:

“Well she's made me feel like the worst mother in the world for asking. I've explained that we've lost her child benefit now, and I'm expecting her dad to stop paying maintenance too but our outgoings have remained the same or increased.”

The mother also added that she asked her daughter to pay her phone bill. She got a brand new iPhone X on the condition that she would pay for it herself. However, the daughter hasn't paid a penny yet, and that's worrying the mother.

She said that her daughter has a provisional driving license, and she plans on getting her a permanent one. She will use her daughter's money for her driving lessons, and when the girl passes her test, she will get her own car that her mom has already selected. The mother asked other users if she was unreasonable, and one of them replied:

“I’d be considering charging her more tbh, even if you don’t need to then it can go towards her driving licenses (as you have already planned) and anything else that might come up.”

Most users supported the mother's decision and told her what she said was not unreasonable. They pushed her to be more strict since they thought she was giving too much in return for £50. They said it was important for the girl to realize that everything in life has to be paid for.

A user even questioned why does the girl have a car waiting for her. They said that the girl seems pretty spoiled and the mother should make her daughter more independent. Other users thought it was over the top for the girl to get all the luxuries in life and not pay for anything. A user commented:

"If this is the attitude she has now, she's really going to struggle in a few years. Why does she think it's acceptable not to contribute, especially for her own phone?"

It seems like most people want young millennials to understand that you have to pay for the luxuries in life. They support the idea of charging rent because that's an effective way to motivate children to build a career and pay for everything they want.

Is it only the Americans who want their kids to live independently after turning 18? A Quora user from the Czech Republic commented that children are considered adults when they are 18. If they are continuing their education, then parents support them financially until they turn 26. The user pointed out that this does not mean that parents don't ask their children for rent. They can do it without any objections.

HOW TO USE THE RENT MONEY

When taking money from your child in the form of rent, you may question how to use that money for the household. You can either use it to pay a portion of the monthly grocery bill or channel it towards paying the mortgage. You may even use it to pay for their driving classes as the Mumsnet user did.

Another brilliant idea is to save the monthly rent without your child knowing, either in the form of a parent 401(k) plan or in a savings bank account. You can hand over the cash to your child as a surprise when they are moving out. This will make them realize the importance of saving money, which will help them manage finances in the future when they live on their own.

I DON'T WANT TO CHARGE RENT!

Some parents might think that charging rent is not the best idea. They might think it's not right to demand rent from their children, and that's completely okay. However, that doesn't mean they let their millennial kids enjoy the luxuries of life without paying for them.

They can ask their child to buy monthly groceries with their earnings or contribute to the monthly utility bills. In this way, parents won't have to ask for cash in hand so that they won't feel bad. Their child can pay one of the bills or buy groceries, but they won't be allowed to get away without contributing anything.

What do you think about it? Should parents charge rent from kids who are eligible to work? Or is it too much to ask for from your child? We'd love to know your opinions. Leave a comment and share this article with your friends to know their thoughts on this topic.