Parents take care of their kids. That’s a given, right?
But there is one hidden clause in that agreement and it’s in that little word “kids,” as, and I hope this won’t come as a shock to you, parents are legally required to take care of you till you’re an adult.
Today’s story is about parents sharing their whys for charging their high school graduate daughter rent until she decides to go to college or make a plan for her future.
More info: TikTok
The question of whether graduated kids should pay their parents rent may be a dividing one for many
Image credits: bar7ranch
The Archers opened their video by asking what others think about asking for rent from their kids if they've graduated
Image credits: bar7ranch
They mentioned that they applied this to their own daughter, a high school graduate who wasn't going to college
Image credits: bar7ranch
The Archers said they want 200 to 300 bucks for rent, saying that it fosters independence
Image credits: bar7ranch
Watch the full video here:
There are many different opinions about charging kids rent, especially when housing prices are rising
Cody and Erika Archers are a family of 1st generation ranchers, living in central Texas. They run the Bar 7 Ranch channels across a whole bunch of social media, from TikTok to Facebook, even doing Cameos (a website where fans can order personalized messages).
Across these platforms, they post edutaining content about their lifestyle, striving to share what they do with the world. They share all the chores that they do in a day or talk about something specific.
In this video, which went particularly viral, they talk about charging their daughter $200 - $300 in rent after she graduated from high school and decided not to go to college, at least for the time being.
This story was so popular that they were even interviewed by NBC Today, giving a couple more comments about their reasoning.
The parents emphasized a wish for their daughter, named Kylee Deason, to move towards becoming more independent - and paying rent would be one of the things to help her.
According to the Today article, the family created a plan that satisfied all of them. Kylee would pay her landlords, the Archers, rent from her job as a clerk, while being more of a tenant in her home and not needing to report to her parents as much.
Although Deason’s rent was frequently paid late, the arrangement seems to have worked for everyone.
Image credits: bar7ranch
Bored Panda reached out to the Archie family with some questions, and they graciously answered!
Just in case you were wondering, Cody and Erika intend to treat their younger son the same way, preparing him for the future the same way they did with Kylee.
If you were wondering what’s the best way to bring this up with your kids, Erika says that you should be honest with them and talk to them very early on about it.
“Let them know that it is not a form of punishment or a need to make ends meet on our end, but rather a way to prepare them for the real world and what they are about to go out into.”
The amount should be something that would make an impact on the family’s budget but not be too big that the kids couldn’t continue to put aside some savings in preparation for moving.
According to Erika, it’s the job of parents to raise productive adults, and that includes preparing them for the world.
“If you have these discussions all along as they are growing in their teens, they are prepared for it. It doesn't feel like you are picking on them or disciplining them. They know it's coming and a part of growing,” Erika says.
In return for charging rent, you should also give them the freedoms that come with being a ‘tenant’ in your home. You should sit down as a family and set down some basic house rules.
If you prepare them from the beginning, your child will know that their home is still a safe place, no matter what.
“If they ever get in a bind and need to come back home, your door is always open, but in the same token, it's not just a free place to live forever,” the Archies finish with a strong statement.
Image credits: bar7ranch
The question whether you should charge your kids rent is quite popular these days. It seems that a significant amount of young people had their lives quite severely disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. This gave rise to the phenomenon of ‘boomerang’ kids - people who return to their parents for various kinds of support after having moved out.
This phenomenon has even earned a Wikipedia article about it, collecting various arguments for and against the practice.
With the economic situation across the globe not getting any better fast, graduated kids staying with their parents for some time until they get in a more stable position seems to make a lot of sense. One Family shares reasons and advice for getting rent from your kids.
The first thing you should do is create a realistic budget for your family, discussing it with all family members, especially your soon-to-be renters.
Then, you should agree upon the amount that is fair. It could be arbitrary, a certain percentage, or something they pay for.
Doing this could teach your kids to budget their own finances better, save money, and, of course, pay for their expenses in the household.
According to the Today article, Kylee Deason is currently living with her aunt and babysitting instead of paying rent to her.
The video posted by Bar 7 Ranch currently has almost 230k views, with 13k likes and 5700 comments. In the comments, people are split. Some say that it’s not fair to ask your kids for money, while others say it’s perfectly reasonable. Share your opinions below!
The comments were split, with some saying that it's unfair to take rent from kids, while others said that they would do it or are already doing so
Image credits: maitree rimthong (not the actual photo)
