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Mum sparks debate after revealing she charges her 7-year-old rent and bills
A mum has sparked a debate online after revealing that she charges her seven-year-old son for rent and bills.
The American woman took to TikTok to explain her ‘parenting hack’, saying it’s worked wonders for her household.
The mum implemented her new parenting trick two months ago and wanted to share how well it had worked with other parents.
She explained how her seven-year-old has a list of tasks that he has to complete on a daily basis. If he manages to complete all the tasks, he gets $1 per day.
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The tasks include duties such as brushing his teeth, making his bed and putting his dirty clothes in the laundry.
She said if she sees that he needs challenging in certain areas, such as throwing his shower towel on the floor instead of on the hook on the wall, that goes on his task list the following week.
"At the end of the month, he realises that he has bills to pay. He pays those bills to me,” she said.
"He has his rent, he has electricity for his room and he also has his internet for his iPad. He then understands that throughout the month he has two buckets. He has his fun money and his bill money.”
The boy pays $5 rent per month, $2 for electricity and $2 for WiFi, meaning he ends up with $21 to spend on whatever he wants at the end of the month.
The mum said it’s up to her son to categorise his money and choose which buckets he’s going to put it in before the end of the month.
"I don't do anything with his money but put it right back in his savings account. It has taught him the value of a dollar and responsibility.
"I am so pleased with the results, hopefully it's something that can help you out as well."
While she said they haven't ran into the problem of the boy not paying his bills yet, she thinks she'll "give him an extension until the next month and then have that conversation at that time".
The video, which has been viewed over 430,000 times so far on the social media site has stirred up some debate, with many calling the hack amazing and others saying her son is too young.
“Okay but he’s 7. Why not just let him be a kid and then do this when he’s a teenager or something,” one person wrote.
“Kids should be kids. They can worry about bills when they’re older,” another person wrote.
Others said they thought it was a ‘wonderful idea’, with one person commenting: “Good that you are showing him responsibilities.”
“I get it, it teaches them the value of money and hard work. You also put it in a savings so he gets it in the end. Instead of blowing it on candy etc,” another person commented.
“This may seem extreme to some but financial literacy is not taught at school so where is it going to be taught? At home! This is a good way to start,” a commenter wrote.
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