A mum from the US has revealed that she charges her five-year-old daughter rent so that she can learn what the “world is really like”
Essence Evans, from Georgia in the US, has gone viral after she wrote a Facebook post revealing that she charges her little girl $5 a week for rent and bills – even though she’s only five.
She wrote: “I MAKE MY 5 YEAR OLD PAY RENT. Every week she gets $7 dollars in allowance. But I explained to her that in the real world most people spend most of their paycheck on bills with little to spend on themselves.
“So I make her give me $5 dollars back.”
Essence breaks down exactly what the money goes towards, so that her daughter knows what she’s paying for: “$1 for rent $1 for water $1 for electricity $1 for cable and $1 for food.”
She then explains how she can spend the remainder as pocket money: “The other $2 she gets to save or do what she wants with.”
Pretty shocking, right? Shouldn’t kids just focus on being kids at the age of five rather than having to learn about adult problems?
But Essence isn’t keeping the money for herself – it’s actually going back into her daughter’s pocket… Eventually.
“Now, what she doesn’t know is the $5 is actually going away in her savings account,” she wrote, adding that she “will give back to her when she turns 18”.
She added: “So if she decides to move out on her own she will have $3,380 to start off.”
Would you charge your child rent to teach them about the world early on? Or do you think they should be left to their own devices at the age of five? Let us know