Single Mom Questions If Charging Her 16-Year-Old Son ‘Rent’ So He Could Have His Own Bedroom In Their House Is A ‘Mistake’
She even gave up her own bedroom in the process.
Motortion Films | Shutterstock A single mom admitted she might've made a mistake by allowing her eldest son to have his own bedroom. The mom of five boys claimed that her 16-year-old son had been complaining about sharing his room with his brother, so she decided to give him what he wanted, albeit in an unconventional way.
The mom started charging her teen son 'rent' so he could have his own bedroom in their house.
"Up until two months ago, the two eldest boys shared a room, the three youngest shared, and I had the smallest room," she outlined in her Reddit post. "For the last few years, my eldest complained non-stop about having to share a room with his little brother."
Due to the size of their house, each of her children cannot have their own room. Still, because most of her son's friends come from wealthy families, he can't help but compare their situations.
A couple of months ago, she and her oldest son once again discussed how much he disliked sharing a room with his brother. He admitted that he'd even drop out of school if it meant getting to live in his own space.
"I told him I had looked at 4-bedroom rentals in our area, but they were just too expensive. He asked if he could pay the difference if we did move," she added that her son has been working since he was 14 and had some money saved.
"I told him no because, during the school year, all his money would go to rent, not his savings and spending. That obviously wouldn't sit right with me," she wrote.
They came to a compromise where her son would give her $50 a month for the private bedroom.
Despite her reluctance, she agreed to take $50 from her son each month so that he could have his own room. To make it work, she moved into the living room to sleep on the pull-out couch, and her younger sons shifted, so there were now two kids in each room.
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"This was two months ago, and we already made the switch, and everybody is happy with the new setup," she shared, adding that all of the money her son pays in rent goes "straight into my Christmas savings."
After many of her friends disapproved of her decision, the mom questioned if she made a 'mistake.'
"They think I'm wrong for taking any amount of money from my kids and a couple of them said I should have just given him the room without making him pay for it," she wrote. "They make some good points, and I don't totally disagree."
Compared to parents who charge their underage children rent or force their newly turned 18-year-old kids to move out, this mom's decision doesn't seem too absurd, especially since she gave up her own bedroom in the process. The money she receives from her son also goes into a savings account that will benefit him in the end—it's not as if she's cashing in his $50 each month to treat herself.
In addition, if her son somehow is unable to pay the $50, he won't be kicked out. If anything, he'll simply go back to sharing a room with his siblings until he graduates high school and goes to college.
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"There is a wild difference between charging your underage kids rent and accepting $50 a month (that is going back to the kids) so a growing teenager can have privacy," one commenter wrote. "Not exactly an ideal solution, but tricky problems require unconventional solutions."
She is also teaching her teenage son a valuable lesson about financial responsibility and budgeting that will surely pay off when he becomes an adult and pays rent to a far less forgiving landlord.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.