To think that paying rent when a person gets a job at age 16 is a good idea!

[BritFish]

backstory: My DC's both paid rent once they got jobs at age 16, working in cafe and in supermarket [like his mum, how embarassing ]

They paid £30 a month, and then both went off to uni, but if they had stayed at home and got full time jobs that rent would have been increased a lot, obviously.

Someone at work was talking about this the other day, and a few people were expressing anger at their child paying to 'stay in their own home'

I see getting a job when you leave school as pretty much a given, as giving pocket money when they're old enough to earn their own is a bit ridiculous to be honest
and we all have to pay bills later in life, so starting them off gently now isnt such a bad thing is it!
am i being totally unreasonable in thinking getting a job and paying a bit of rent at 16 is normal!

Good idea. I would do as another poster said - save the money they paid and give it back to them as a lump sum when they left. They have still learnt to live to a budget, but the money would help towards buying a house.

My DSS pays his money grabbing mother rent, even though he is in full time education - he's 19 and still living with her. He has a part time job though and does as many hours as possible so that he actually manages to have some money for himself at the end of it.

It is very important to teach kids about the value of money, but that should perhaps mean encouraging them to get a p/t job to help pay for their own personal things so you don't have to give them pocket money, rather than them paying you 'rent'. There needs to be a happy medium.

Very interesting reading this.

Dsd is 17, lives at home. Gets max EMA. Has a horse which i\ presume her EMA goes on. We have paid for her driving lessons.

She doesn't have any form of work (is at college) and we give her an allownace.
She makes out that she has it tough, but from reading this, I don't think she does!!

Whilst DS is in education, whether college or uni I would not charge. CB is paid through college anyway so cant see why people would charge anyway.

If he leaves uni and starts working, i'd probably charge him but save it to help furnish his own place once he leaves home.

Long way off yet though

My eldest was made to tip up as soon as he started working. £20 a week to keep his feet on the ground. He also had 'jobs sround the house from 7 years old for his pocket money and treats. Same will go for the other 3 when the time comes

Confused about CB - I thought it stopped when they reached 16?

I've created a monster it seems. Because I can't afford stuff for them, they go running to Daddy. He keeps me short on maintenance and instead gives it to them in pocket money. So they have new clothes, music downloads, days out etc. etc. and are looking forward to a really swanky holiday whilst I can just about afford to put food on the table and keep them warm and pay the petrol to ferry them around the whole time. They don't appreciate it, so damn right I'll be taking money off them in rent when they get a job. They can carry on living on Daddy's handouts for everything else if that's the way he's taught them the world turns .

I paid rent from leaving sixth form during my gap year but from 16 years old I had to buy all my own stuff so had a saturday job to pay for it (my mum was a single mum and money was tight). I worked extra hours to fund going out etc. I think it's taught me lots of life lessons and DH has even said that he wishes his parents had done the same for him.

A friend of mine paid reasonable rent to her parents on returning home after uni and they spectacularly gave it all back to her when she got married.

I obviously dont' feel the same way as other posters, but I just don't feel I could ever charge mu DC's rent. Ever. Not even if they were 50 and still living with me.

Of course I want them to grow up to be self sufficient adults, but I'm not about to start charging them rent just to teache them a lesson in economics.

I guess I get my attitude from my my own parents, who would never dreamed of charging any of us rent.

I actualy think it's very harsh to expect money from a 16 yo who works as well as studies. Surely they are saving you money by not needing any pocket money.

I was still phoning home asking for extra money for clothes when I got my first job at 18. Which, admittedly was taking the piss a little.

DH was charged rent by his parents when he started work, at 16. Actually he also had an evening job, so he could save up a deposit for a house. I think he has the same attitude to me re charging off-spring rent, but he wouldn never, ever let any of them sit around being a NEET...that's the one thing he would just never tolerate, so I think he would start charging rent if any of them started lounging around.

I paid rent from the age of 16, only a tenner a week which left me with about £100 for fuel, clothes, going out etc.
When I went home for uni holidays I paid rent of about £50 as I was working ft.

BIL was not asked to pay rent after leaving school at 16 and is only just moving out at the age of 25. He has no concept of money (has got himself into horrible debt twice and been bailed out by IL's) and it will all go tits up soon. Much better for them to not have a lot of money but a healthy resepct for what they do have than no idea how the real world functions IMO.

My eldest DS (17) is doing A levels and has a well paid saturday job. He gives us £50 a month, however it goes straight into a savings account that we also pay into ready for University.
I wouldn't dream of charging him rent at this point in his life. We won't let him do any other work as this take time away from revising and studying, that's not fair on him, or his chances of getting to the Uni he wants to.
This is such a crucial time for them the added pressure wouldn't be fair. He does however buy his own clothes etc, apart from bits we get him for b'day and xmas. we also provide all the food necesarry fro him to take packed lunches, if he choses to eat out at lunch time it's on his money. Fairdos I think.

Depends.

Some people honestly can't afford to board their children after the tax credits and/or child benefit stop age 16.

Sorry, but that's true.

And if the child is still living there then they can't downsize to a smaller flat with lower rent.

I used to pay "board" when I got my first job, it wasn't alot to be fair and I chose to increase it when i got paid more.

i would definitely charge them rent.

my sisters and i were given the rule that when we were earning we would give 1/4 of our wages to the household.
and when i was on JSA after i finished uni, i had to give £10 a week (which was the equivalent of 1/4 of the JSA payment)

I would do the same to my children.

we also had to earn pocket money: which i will carry on with my kids (doing set chores suitable to their age, finishing homework etc)

ClaraJo - Are you really angry at your ex for giving your kids clothes and pocket money? Really? For heavens sake they are your children - why shouldn't they have new clothes and days out if their father is prepared to give it to them?

I understand that some people honestly can't afford to keep their kids - but I do wonder where this magic age of 16 has come from. Antiquated I think. Most 16 yo's are in the middle of year 11 - facing their GCSE's and shouldn't have to worry about funding themselves. It saddens me to think that many kids feel they have to go on to full time work rather than A levels because they need the cash. Its really tough for kids out there right now (to find work)....I hope the gov't puts the age up when they extend compulsary education.

oh, yeah, sorry, forgot to put my main point!

"expressing anger at having to pay to stay in their own home"!!!!
what!!!
so the parents get the food, rent/mortage, electricity, water etc for nothing then do they, because they're staying in their own home!!

what a silly thing to say!

Not at all - I payed a percentage of my income to my mum as soon as I got a job of any kind and it helped me a lot in the long run. When I moved into a shared house it made it very easy to budget for bills as 'putting money aside' had become second nature by then; those who hadn't had to budget found it a lot more of a culture shock.

All for it if you agree a reasonable percentage between you I reckon.

I don't think someone in FT education should be working to pay their rent.

I am not sure what lesson is being taught here. People are saying it is about learning to manage money - I think it is learning that all that your family are bothered about is putting a price on everything.

My parents never charged me rent. My sister came to live with me for three months as an adult and I didn't charge rent. My niece may live with us for her A level years and I have no intention of charging her. I certainly will not charge my children rent, and I will put any spare money I have towards their education and a deposit on a house for them.

You only have to stand on your own two feet in life if nobody you know really cares about you.

'I think it is learning that all that your family are bothered about is putting a price on everything.'

And how exactly are the parents supposed to magic up more income once the tax credits and child benefit stop because the kid is 16 if they're already working all they can?

Cost of living has risen again, but wages haven't!

My parents both had to work and contribute, my mother when she was 16 and still in high school, my dad pretty much all his life.

His family were poor, not cruel.

Oh, and he and all 4 of his siblings went on to master's degrees or other (one is anaesthetist, two were teachers, one a social worker and my dad a petroleum engineer).

I don't agree with that MillyR I think if you care about someone you will encourage their independence and by charging X amount as rent/board you teach them the value of money.

My mum would never see me go poor but by asking for board she's made me the person who is good with money today.

child benefit is paid until the child is 16 - unless they continue in fulltime education, payments will continue until either the child leaves collage or until they turn 19.

my children will only be charged a small amount of rent if they are in full time work and i no longer recieve child benefit for them, but they will need to ensure they contribute to the household chores as they would have to if they move out of home,

but soon all children with have to be in education until they are 18, in the form of collage, sixth form or apprentiship,

so when mine grow up the same rules will apply but from when they are 18.

I paid rent to my parents as soon as I was working and will expect the same of my 3 dcs.
But I will do what my parents did and save it for when they go to uni/move out/need to buy a car etc without telling them.
That way they learn to pay their own way but also have some help when they need it.

I agree with you MillyR.

Saving up the baord money to buy them a car isn't teaching them anything...surely they should be saving up the money to buy the car themselves...not relying on parents to do it for them. And do parents who do this to their DC let on it's what they've don, or do they just let thier DC think they are being generous?

i would NEVER charge my children rent

I carried on giving DD her £40pm allowance when she had a part time job - but ONLY because her wages went straight into an untouched bank account and she started Uni with over £6k saved. The money we gave her was her spending money / driving lessons etc. If she was spending her wages I wouldn't have paid her any more.

If she did not go to Uni then yes I WOULD charge rent. My parents charged us rent, but when I was saving to get married it was only a minimal amount - which I appreciated.