After revealing that she made her 18-year-old daughter sign a lease in order to continue living at home, a mother started a discussion about good parenting practices.
The mother, who uses the TikTok handle @c d g, posted a video of her daughter signing the housing agreement, which stipulates that she must pay $100 per month for her childhood room, last month.
The woman’s daughter could be seen reading the document before signing her name in the footage, which is set to “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” from the musical Annie.
The mother began the written caption on the video with, “When your 18-year-old decides to stay at home,” before portraying the circumstance as a “teaching opportunity” and her manner of “putting [her daughter] up for success.”
The one-year contract stipulates that for the length of the arrangement, the daughter of the TikToker shall pay the “landlord” a monthly rent of $100. Payment is due on the first of every month, according to the contract, and “shall be deemed late by the 10th day.”
The lease stipulates, in part, “Payment information: All rent payments due hereunder shall be made directly to the Landlord or transferred from the Tenant to the Landlord’s bank account.”
The mother used the hashtags #setupforsuccess and #myhousemyrules in the video’s caption.
More than 1.6 million people have watched the film, which has now prompted a discussion among viewers, many of whom are opposed to the parenting strategy.
One guy replied, “I’m delighted my parents love me,” and another said, “‘Setting her up for success,’ dude you’re setting her up to never speak to you again.”
Another person commented, “I’m very grateful my parents give me a safe haven that is provided for me without condition; I know I always have a place at home regardless of finances.”
Others wrote about similar, unsuccessful experiences they had with their own parents. One individual wrote: “My parents did this and we no longer talk! I guess good luck then.
However, other viewers felt that the parenting strategy would make more sense if the mother of the teenager had saved the rent money to give to the daughter when she eventually moved out.
I believe that this is true if you save the money for your child to utilize as a real down payment on something or for college, but otherwise…idk,” one commenter commented.
Take her rent, but save it all up and return it to her when she leaves or marries, said another.
Others supported the lease on the grounds that it was considerably less expensive than what the adolescent would have to pay for independent living.
“Guys, if she learns to pay mom’ rent’ before she moves out, it will prepare her for paying ACTUAL rent! It costs $100 per month. Come on,” one spectator urged.
In a subsequent video, the mother responded to some of the inquiries she had gotten on the lease and explained why she had chosen to do so for her daughter. The mother said that when she became a single mother at the age of 16, she had to “fight for everything” on her own because her own parents had not “put [her] up for success.”
“I also don’t want my kids to go through it. So everything I do helps them become ready for life in the real world,” she explained, adding that she doesn’t want her kids to need her for “anything.”
The TikToker went on to say that she fabricated the lease agreement so her daughter would have a track record of previous tenants when she eventually moved out and that the 18-year-old could gain experience reading a “legal document.” The mother stated that the rent is the only item that her daughter is responsible for paying because she is exempt from having to pay for her phone or car insurance.
She is free to go if she so chooses, of course. But if the daughter did move out, it would be much tougher for her given the state of the economy,” the mother remarked.
