Cruel Stepfather Demands 8-Year-Old Son Pay Him Rent

There are so many parents out there who make their kids feel guilty for being born. Have you ever heard the lines, "I feed you. I bought the clothes off of your back. I do everything for you." Yikes. Rhetoric like this makes kids feel guilty about needing to be cared for, which is the parent's responsibility, not the kid's. Some parents take this guilt-tripping to the next level, such as Redditor u/Cantlosemyemployment, who asked Reddit whether he was the bad guy for wanting his stepson to spend his allowance on rent payed directly to him.

Posted by Emmy Ward

“AITA for charging an 8-year-old rent?”

The comment section

Redditors were quick to let OP know that this was not an acceptable or legal demand to put on such a young kid.

Some commenters said that the only way this would be acceptable was if the father put all of the “rent” money into a savings account for his son.

“Aye, the only way I can see this turning in his favour even slightly is if there's a 'and on his 18th birthday I revealed that I had saved the money for him' plan, but even then...YTA. That being said $25 a WEEK? I was lucky to get £5 a week at that age," said u/MrJ_Sar.

Other commenters said that OP's son could be incredibly traumatized from having to pay rent as a child. After all, it's not the industrial revolution anymore.

“It's still an AH move because of the emotional trauma. It is trauma to be 8 years old and feel like your parents are not providing for you, that you are a burden to them and need to pay for your place in their lives/home. His home should be his safe place. Money management is important but this is not the way to go about it.” replied u/Apprehensive-Jelly42

OP u/Cantlosemyemployment responded to the outpour of negative responses. “Alright, I’m the AH. I’m going to give the child an allowance as I planned anyway. He can save for “big” purchases for himself, and we can talk about the fun stuff when he’s older. I had a bad idea. I thought it was “fun” and everyone would win. I love my son; he’s been in my life for 6 years. We have a great relationship, and I just want to see him grow to be better than I ever could be. You all are correct in that I didn’t think of the implications of taking from my son and the emotional damage that could cause or anxiety within him. That’s the Last thing I want.”

In conclusion, OP said, “I hope all the parents here can learn from the comments. Because truthfully, I feel like we’re all just winging raising children, and nobody knows for sure what's in their best interest sometimes. There’s more than one way to cook an egg, so to speak. All we can do is learn from each other and our experiences. TLDR; Don’t try to charge your kid rent.”