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We Told Our 19-Year-Old 'Rent's Due' Right After She Graduated — Parents Spark Debate For Charging Daughter $300 A Month

Photo: TikTok
Cody Archie, Erika Archie

Two Texas parents are voicing their stance on the debate around charging adult children to live at home after they finish school.

Cody and Erika Archie shared with their TikTok followers that they have no issue having their 19-year-old daughter pay them for rent and food each month in exchange for her being able to stay with them.

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They charge their teenage daughter $300 in rent and food each month after she graduated high school and stayed at home.

In a reposted video to their account, Cody and Erika Archie wanted to hear the opinions of their followers after revealing that they had been charging their daughter for rent. "Alright, y'all tell us. Do you make your graduated high school student pay rent in your house if they aren’t going to college yet?”

Photo: TikTok

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Cody explained that their daughter, Kylee Deason, then 18, had recently graduated from high school, and months before she walked across the stage, Cody told her that on June 1, her rent would be due if she wanted to stay and live with them.

"$200 a month is plenty cheap to live like a grub in your parent’s house,” Cody said. While the $200 monthly rent did not include Kylee eating their food or making her own from the groceries bought in the fridge, if she wanted to eat her parent's homecooked meals, then her rent would increase to $300.

"We think it teaches them a good lesson and paying bills," Erika added. In an interview with TODAY, they explained that their daughter had been unsure if she wanted to go to college or not, and while she decided what route she wanted to take for her future, Cody and Erika decided until she figured it out, she would also need to learn how to be financially independent.

   

   

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In the comments section, many people were divided on whether or not they agreed.

"A definite no for me… I know it’s rare, but I will forever help my kids… no matter the age," one TikTok user wrote.

Another user added, "We didn’t but we were allowing him a safe place to save every penny before he was launched into this cruel world."

"To each is their own but my parent's house was always a place I didn’t pay bills. It’s hard out here," a third user pointed out. 

However, others chimed in that having your children pay rent once they've graduated is the best way to teach them life skills and help them prepare for the adult world.

"That’s life. So better start early so they know part of how it is.. that’s nothing compared to what she will have to deal with when she moves out," a fourth commenter shared.

A fifth TikTok user agreed, writing, "I think it’s a great way to teach them what the real world is like. It’s like giving them training wheels before they ride the bike."

Another commenter offered a solution for parents who are looking to charge their children rent, but also want to help them out once they do move out. "I agree with charging your kids rent but let's put that rent into an account for when they do leave and need it most, it's there for them."

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Many young adults in the United States are still living with their parents.

According to a 2021 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, via CBS News, one in four young adults are living with their parents or another older family member, which is the largest share in more than 50 years.

The numbers are even higher for people between ages 25 to 34 without college degrees, with almost 1 in 3 living in multigenerational households last year, the study found.

Many factors have contributed to 20-somethings opting to stay at home with their parents, including the surge of prices for houses and apartments, the pandemic, and inflation. 

When it comes to parents charging their kids for rent as more young adults are staying at home, according to a poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek, out of 1,500 parents, 57% said that a 20-something moving back home should pay for their room, even if their parents "do not need the money." While only 28% felt that adult children should be able to live rent-free.

"We see it as our responsibility to raise productive members of society," Cody told TODAY. "We want our child to realize that if they want something in life, they have to work like mom and dad to get there."

As for how Kylee feels about her parents charging her rent? The 19-year-old told NBC News that she honestly doesn't mind it. “I wasn’t that mad about it,” she admitted.

“I would much rather have to pay my mom and dad $200 a month than go pay somebody else $800.”

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Nia Tipton is a Brooklyn-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.