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Mom Feels Like 'Worst Mother In The World' For Asking Daughter To Pay Rent

Updated September 8, 2021

As we grow and experience life, we often find ourselves developing a set of values that we hold dear.

And for the most part, we see reason to stick to those ideals when we come across something that seems to fly in the face of them or outright offend them.

Yet sooner or later, we'll come across something that challenges our worldviews in a way that isn't so easily brushed off. In these circumstances, we can find that what we generally believe to be true or just doesn't apply in the situation we're faced with.

And one mom's story seemed to have this effect on people who would normally feel strongly about what she has asked her daughter to do.

Before explaining her dilemma, the mom we're about to hear from said that her daughter is about to turn 17 and started an apprenticeship in the summer.

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As she wrote in a post on the parenting forum Mumsnet, this apprenticeship pays the equivalent of $20,000 a year.

She also said that the daughter has no regular expenses aside from regularly buying lunch. She further pointed out that even this expense is unnecessary since she can bring food from home.

Recently, the mom has asked her daughter to contribute the equivalent of $69 to their household per week.

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As she outlined, this would be given in exchange for the food and laundry her mom would provide, as well as all the hot water she needs and the availability of the mom to drive her to and from work as well as wherever she wants.

She added, "On top of that I've asked her to pay her own phone bill."

But this proposal clearly didn't go down well as she said, "Well she's made me feel like the worst mother in the world for asking."

As the mom explained, however, this request comes at a time of some financial strain for her household.

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In her words, "I've explained that we've lost her child benefit now, and I'm expecting her dad to stop paying maintenance too."

Although this father's contribution amounts to about $23 a week, the fact remains that her family's expenses have remained the same where they didn't increase.

She also mentioned that her daughter had recently received a new iPhone X on the condition that she pay the bill for it, but hasn't put forth a penny from that agreement.

Finally, she said that the money collected would go towards the daughter's driving lessons rather than her own pockets.

With all this in mind, the site's other users determined that she was being perfectly reasonable in asking her daughter for this contribution.

And some users seemed to surprise themselves by saying this. As one who normally doesn't believe in charging their children rent as soon as they start working said, "Essentially you're asking her to pay her own phone bill and pay for her own driving lessons, that's really not unreasonable."

The mom also asked what she can do if her daughter refuses to pay, which led commenters to suggest withholding the accommodations listed above that she would get if she decided to pay.

They also recommended taking the daughter's phone back since the mom is the one paying for it anyway.

In any case, nobody seemed to think she was anywhere near "the worst mother in the world."

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

h/t: Mumsnet | Icanflyhigh

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