Woman sparks debate after asking 16-year-old daughter to pay £200 rent

2 September 2021, 10:04 | Updated: 2 September 2021, 11:00

A mum has asked whether she is being unreasonable to ask her 16-year-old daughter to pay for rent.

One mum has divided the internet after she revealed she has asked her daughter to pay towards living in their family home.

Posting to Mumsnet, the anonymous woman explained that her 16-year-old recently started an apprenticeship with a salary of £14,500 per year.

The teenager has no other financial ties, and while she is meant to pay the bill for her new iPhone X, she is yet to transfer her mum.

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In a bid to teach her daughter about money, the mum suggested she pay £50 a week, or £200 a month towards the running of the house.

This money will then be put toward the teen's driving lessons, after she already bought her a car to use after she passes.

"I have asked her to contribute £50 per week to the household," the mum said.

"For that, she will have all food provided, washing done, all the hot water she can use, lifts to wherever she wants, pretty much whenever she wants them, a lift to and from work each day (we don't live on a bus route) and other usual stuff.

"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 (not that his £17 a week makes a huge difference to be fair) but our outgoings have remained the same or increased."

She added: “The board I have asked her for will be put straight towards her driving lessons.

“I've already bought her provisional driving licence and she has a car waiting for when she has passed her test.”

And the post soon racked up plenty of responses, with one person writing: “A 17 year old on nearly 15k a year needs to pay some board - even just a nominal gesture.

“She can save the rest, which will put her in a very good position financially.”

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Someone else wrote: “She's taking home £1k a month and expects to live for free?!

“She's pushing you and trying to play a guilt trip because she's loving the having the cash.”

A third parent added: “That's a very decent wage for her age! Asking for her to pay housekeeping / board is a valuable lesson.

“Life only gets more expensive and she needs to learn to budget.”

But a fourth argued: “You are asking a 16 year old child to pay to stay in their own home.

“You shouldn’t have had kids you can’t pay for.”