Georgia mom praised for making her 5-year-old daughter 'pay rent' to teach a vital life lesson

A Georgia mom sparked a heated discussion online after she revealed the unique manner in which she teaches the importance of money to her young daughter. According to Daily Mail, Essence Evans from Atlanta went viral a couple of years ago when she shared on Facebook that she makes her then-5-year-old daughter pay household bills from her allowance. While the prospect of a child having to pay rent will raise a few eyebrows, Evans revealed that the money is actually being secretly tucked away in a saving account for her daughter.

"I make my five-year-old pay rent," she wrote in the 2018 post. "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. $1 for rent $1 for water $1 for electricity $1 for cable and $1 for food." Evans explained that her daughter can then choose to save the remaining $2 or spend it how she pleases. "Now what she doesn't know is the $5 is actually going away in her savings account which I will give back to her when she turns 18," she continued.

"So, if she decides to move out on her own, she will have $3380 to start off. This strategy not only prepares your child for the real world, but when they see how much real bills are, they will appreciate you for giving them a huge discount," Evans concluded with a laughing emoji. The Facebook post was a bit hit among other netizens who praised her for teaching her daughter such an important lesson about money at an early age.

"You are brilliant for teaching this to your child in this way," a netizen named Melissa Thomas reportedly wrote. "I have done similar with my kids, and I am now the proud parent of two young ladies who know and respect what they can earn more than something given to them." Maria Gahan-Broman shared similar sentiments, writing: "Well done! I did a similar version of this when my boys were little, they have turned out to be amazing men and fathers, great with money, taking care of their children, owning their home, paying mortgages down, staying out of debt."

However, there were also some who worried that Evans' lesson might be putting unnecessary stress on her daughter. "Its YOUR job to raise your child," commented Stacey Branan Taylor. "Put the money in a savings account if you want, but no child should be made to feel that they should pay for what a parent should provide." This debate recently resurfaced online after TikTok user feliciaraefarley posted a video explaining how she's been using the same parenting hack with her 7-year-old daughter. "Every week my daughter has a list of chores," she says in the video posted online on February 6. "If those chores were completed daily she will get $7 at the end of the week."

"She is then required to pay her bills for living in the house," the TikToker continued. She explained that she charges a dollar each for food, water, electricity, internet, and rent, leaving her daughter with $2 to do as she pleases. Similar to Evans, this mom also puts away the money her daughter pays for bills. "I then take that $5 and put it into a savings for her, so that when she turns 18 she can learn that she made all that money on her own and know the value of money," she said. Other TikTok users were divided over whether it was indeed a good parenting hack or not. At the end of the day though, both these moms are merely looking out for their daughters.