Mom Defends Her Decision To Not Only Give Her 12-Year-Old Daughter Her Own Apartment, But Clean It Too
It may sound like a bit much, but this mom knows what she's talking about.
RDNE Stock project | Pexels While many kids feel privileged to have their own room, one mom took that a step further by giving her 12-year-old daughter her own apartment — one she also cleans for her.
A mom named Audrey shared why her tween daughter has her own "apartment" and why she cleans it for her.
The mom defended her decision to not only give her 12-year-old daughter her own apartment but clean it, too.
Audrey clarified that she doesn't actually call it her daughter's apartment, but that's what many on social media refer to it as. The supposed apartment is actually a large room built above their garage that she gave to her daughter after their family suffered a house fire.
Unfortunately, after the fire, they had to start over, so she and her spouse tried to figure out how they could make something good happen out of something bad. This got them thinking about generational wealth and their kids, so they ultimately decided to create living spaces for their kids so they could live with them for as long as possible without wasting money on rent. Their future thinking meant their kids could put that money towards saving up for their own house.
So, while it may have seemed rather absurd for a 12-year-old to have her own apartment, it's actually just parents trying to set their family up with generational wealth and success.
As credit card expert Dawn Papandrea wrote for Investopedia, generational wealth is important because it allows you to enjoy things in your lifetime and sets your heirs up with a financially secure lifestyle. It creates significant educational opportunities, which leads to greater earning potential for your children, which allows them to continue building upon that foundation for their kids.
The mom cleans her daughter's living space is because she believes in giving children grace.
Audrey said that her daughter takes care of her living space on a day-to-day basis, but Audrey comes in once every two months to clean it. She does this because she feels that children deserve grace.
"I talk a lot about the importance of showing your kids grace, so that's undeserved favor," she said. "They might not deserve my help in cleaning their room, but I'm going to offer it to them anyway."
She did go on to say that she doesn't believe helping clean her daughter's room is giving grace because her daughter is deserving of her help and she keeps her area clean 80% of the time, Audrey just goes in every once in a while to check up on things. She also assured viewers that her daughter is grateful for the cleaning she does and is very happy when Audrey does help by cleaning up.
Many applauded the mom's decision to give her daughter her own living space.
"I love to see a parent that actually understands the seriousness of having a child and how to teach them how to succeed in life and not how to please the adults in their life!! You are doing more for her than you will ever know!! I wish someone did this for me!" one commenter said.
Alena Ozerova | Canva Pro
"Having space for your kids when they're older to not pay rent is AMAZING!!! She will appreciate this so much when she grows up," another commenter said. "You're a great mom. Teaching them how to take care of their own space while allowing them to save up for their own. Something my parents did for me too," a third commenter said.
The term "apartment" might have concerned many, but ultimately, this is a parent looking out for her child's future by ensuring she can save as much money as possible and put it towards her own house one day.
Perhaps it would be wise for other parents to follow her lead and create living spaces for their own children to build their own generational wealth.
Sahlah Syeda is a writer who covers relationships, culture, and human interest topics.