Parents spark debate after charging teen $200 per month to ‘live like a grub’ in their home

Texas parents have divided opinion after charging their teenager $200 a month to live in their home.

Cody and Erika Archie sparked an online debate when they asked the internet’s thoughts on charging their children rent.

“Do you make your graduated high school student pay rent in your house if they aren’t going to college yet?” asked Erika in a reposted video shared on 17 May.

The couple explained that they told their daughter Kylee Deason, who recently graduated high school, that she would need to cough up $200 per month in rent in order to live in their home.

“Two hundred bucks a month is plenty cheap to live like a grub in your parents house,” Cody said.

They added that their daughter’s monthly charge would be up to $300 if she decided to eat out of their refrigerator, but $200 a month to buy her own groceries.

“We think it teaches them a good lesson in paying bills,” Erika said.

Their video, which received nearly 200k views when it was reposted, initially gained over 700k views last year. The TikTok had many users weighing in on charging their children rent in the comments section. While some people believed it teaches them responsibility, others felt that it sets their children back for when they actually want to live on their own in the future.

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

“No. They can’t save much that way,” said someone else. “I have made them pay money and gave it back to them when they need to buy a car or get their own place.”

“Pay rent, like room and board? No. But, they do pay their phone bills and car insurance, on cars that they paid for,” another commented.

Meanwhile, one TikToker said that charging their children rent is a “great step into life as an adult”.

“I’ve seen a trend going around that parents are doing this and then they’re giving that money back to the kids to help pay for their own home later,” another shared.

A recent survey found that more people may be charging their children rent with rising living costs. More than half of parents (52 per cent) with children aged 18 to 30 living at home do not charge them rent, while nearly a third of parents (32 per cent) do not currently charge for bed and lodging, according to TopCashback. Some do ask their adult children to contribute specifically to bills, such as electricity, gas or broadband.

In an interview with NBC News on 19 May, Cody and Erika Archie shared that their daughter, Kylee Deason, graduated high school in 2022. After graduation Kylee began paying her parents $200 monthly, but she admitted that she was fine with the deal.

“I wasn’t that mad about it,” she said. “I would much rather have to pay my mom and dad $200 a month than go pay somebody else $800.”

Still, the monthly rent came with a few perks. As a renter, Deason didn’t need permission to hang out with friends, according to Today. She ultimately moved out in February this year and briefly rented her own apartment. The Archies said that charging their daughter rent “motivated her to start the next chapter of her life”.

The Independent has reached out for comment.