Becoming an adult involves responsibilities such as paying your way, and for some that starts at 18. One of the big debates for parents is whether teens and young adults who stay in the family home should pay rent. So when one of our listeners asked us to talk about it, we thought it would be a great topic for our club.
For some, seeing your child move out, or start to pay rent is a critical stage in growing up. For others, the idea of charging your teenager - or any member of your family - rent is an absolute no-go.
In fact the age at which our kids leave home varies wildly in different cultures; even within the same continent. Across Europe the average age of leaving home is 26, but in Sweden and Denmark it's closer to 21 and in Croatia and Malta it's nearly 32.
In an era where house prices have gone up, wages have stagnated, and young people are staying in the family home for longer, how do we manage the transition to adulthood whilst our young are still living at home?
We talk about how we got where we are, how different cultures think about the topic, and the pros and cons of charging rent.
RESOURCES:
https://www.100yearlife.com/ Living and working in the age of longevity.
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/media/media/research/crsp/downloads/2019-family-sharing--a-mminimum-income-standard-for-people-in-their-20s.pdf
https://www.verywellfamily.com/should-you-charge-your-teen-rent-4106963 (https://www.verywellfamily.com/should-you-charge-your-teen-rent-4106963)
https://cafemom.com/parenting/we-make-our-teenager-pay-rent (https://cafemom.com/parenting/we-make-our-teenager-pay-rent)
https://www.professorshouse.com/charging-a-teenager-rent/ (https://www.professorshouse.com/charging-a-teenager-rent/)
https://www.newsweek.com/teen-asking-stepdad-pay-rent-house-reddit-1735656 (https://www.newsweek.com/teen-asking-stepdad-pay-rent-house-reddit-1735656)
https://empeople.com/learn/empeople-insights/6-real-money-lessons-for-teens (https://empeople.com/learn/empeople-insights/6-real-money-lessons-for-teens)
https://sc.lawforkids.org/speakup/view_question.cfm?id=134&page=3 (https://sc.lawforkids.org/speakup/view_question.cfm?id=134&page=3)
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/charge-children-rent-debate-tiktok-b2342234.html (https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/charge-children-rent-debate-tiktok-b2342234.html)
https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/health-and-wellness/why-you-should-make-your-adult-kids-pay-rent-to-live-in-your-house-20221219-p5c7ha (https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/health-and-wellness/why-you-should-make-your-adult-kids-pay-rent-to-live-in-your-house-20221219-p5c7ha)
https://www.easternstandardtimes.com/episode/rent-is-too-damn-high-for-young-people-across-asia (https://www.easternstandardtimes.com/episode/rent-is-too-damn-high-for-young-people-across-asia)
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220622-the-young-singaporeans-striking-out-on-their-own (https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220622-the-young-singaporeans-striking-out-on-their-own)
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220124-why-teens-arent-what-they-used-to-be (https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220124-why-teens-arent-what-they-used-to-be)
None (https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2023/02/06/why-more-americans-are-choosing-to-live-in-multi-generational-housing)
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www.amindful-life.co.uk
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