Mother sparks debate after revealing she makes her seven-year-old son pay rent
Michigan mum Samantha Bird expects her three sons to pay her 12.5 per cent of their monthly earnings
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.
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??"
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.
"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."