Rhianna Benson
A mum who believes in teaching children to be financially savvy from a young age has come under fire from critics this week, after revealing she charges her seven-year-old rent.
Samantha Bird, a Michigan mother of three, admitted her own childhood spurred the hotly debated decision.
"I didn't grow up with a whole lot of financial education, and so going out into the real world, it was quite a shock and I really struggled," the 31-year-old told Sky News.
"I wanted to give my kids a little bit of a head start in a way that was safe and in an environment that was lighthearted."
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Later in life, she and her husband, Seth, also found themselves in over $40,000 worth of debt, which she attributes to having mismanaged monthly expenses and making one too many credit card payments.
"Now I need to make sure this doesn't happen with my kids," she says.
With this in mind, not only did she set her son Asher up with an investment portfolio - which comes complete with money goals and a trusty financial planning diary - but she has set him up with an important standing order.
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Every month, of the $6 she pays her son for chores, he pays 12.5 per cent of his 'earnings' on rent and utilities. Such is also the case for Bird's two older sons - Jonah, eight, and Simon, 10.
Before we all start kicking off, it's worth noting that, according to the mum, this 12.5 per cent usually equates to around $3 a month.
However, Bird has since been faced with some backlash from online critics.
"WTF even is this..." one demanded on X (formerly Twitter) in response to the news, whilst another said: "Why have kids then??"
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A third said that kids should be allowed to be kids 'for as long as possible', adding: "Charge them a small amount when they’ve got their first part-time jobs, aged 16.
"When they are working full-time, they should pay their fair share. My sons, 20 and 23, pay a third each of the bills and groceries. That’s fair."
Others, however, claimed they're able to understand Bird's reasoning, with one explaining: "If the little one’s got a piggy bank the size of a house, maybe it’s time to teach ‘em some real Yorkshire value—money doesn’t grow on trees, after all.
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"But if they’re still building Lego castles, best keep it light!"
Either way, Bird stands by her parenting practice and has even set up a social media page, named Kids' Money Skills, which is aimed at educating parents on how to teach their kids about finance.
"I've noticed a real sense of confidence in my kids with money," she said. "I learned when the stakes were very high, and it took me a long time to dig out of it."