Mom's post about charging 5-year-old daughter rent goes viral

ATLANTA – It's no surprise when some parents charge their grown children rent when they come back to live at home, but should a 5-year-old be forced to pay up?

A Georgia mom is being praised for a Facebook post saying she charges her young daughter a weekly rent as a teaching moment for the 5-year-old girl.

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Essence Evans posted the item on Jan. 14 detailing that while she gives her daughter $7 in allowance each week, she takes back $5 for rent, water, electricity and food, leaving $2 for the girl to save or spend.

"This strategy not only prepares your child for the real world," wrote Evans. "But when they see how much real bills are they will appreciate you for giving them a huge discount."

However, Evans is actually taking the "rent" money and secretly keeping it in a savings account to give to her daughter when she turns 18. According to Evans, she'll have saved $3,380 by the time she hands it over in 13 years.

The post, which has since been made private or taken down, had been shared at Evans' urging over 300,000 times.


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