A mother has sparked a fiery online debate after asking fellow parents how much she should charge her children for staying under her roof.
As the Aussie mom in question revealed in her post, she wants her kids, aged 15 and 16, to contribute to her household expenses by paying rent or board.
According to the mother, both of her children are still attending school but are also looking at part-time job opportunities on the side.
“When do you think it’s okay to start charging rent or board and at what percentage of their income should it be?” she asked in her viral post.
After asking the controversial question, the mother was flooded with contradicting responses, whereas some parents defended her idea while others blasted the mom for making her own kids pay rent.
“I wouldn’t even consider charging a minor for room/board. That is your responsibility as a parent to house and feed your children,” someone wrote.
“Personally my kids will never pay to live at home no matter their age, however I would be encouraging them to save a percentage of what income they do receive so they are set up and in the habit of doing it,” another one suggested.
One person wrote: “They are your kids not your source of income.”
Meanwhile, however, some parents rushed to the mom’s aid and praised her for attempting to teach her children how to be responsible with their money.
“I don’t think we teach our children anything by not charging them board. Paying their way is teaching them life skills. When my boys started earning at 16 I sat down with them showed them the house expenses – food, power, gas and internet – divided it by the amount of people in the house and basically said this is what you cost a week,” one mother insisted.
“I’m glad my parents made me pay board. It taught me to budget and to be smart with my money,” another one said.
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Replaced!