Mom Makes Her Kids Pay for Their Own Food

When our kids are born, we want to give them the world. As they grow up and find out that there are "made for TV" products, we quickly adjust our plans. We'll give them everything … within reason. Suddenly the question is, what's within reason? Is it within reason to expect a kid to buy their own … groceries?

With the response one single mom is getting for her "rules" for her teenagers, it seems there are plenty of parents out there who would have no problem asking the kids to go buy their own eats.

The mother, who is going back to school herself, posted a photo of a whiteboard listing her new family rules to Reddit. On it, she declares there is no "maid, butler, laundress, cook, valet, errand runner, or other employed help here."

I'm with her. I'm my daughter's mother. Not her servant. I'm even with her on most of her rules — from "to your dishes" to "pick up your mess." But she loses me when she tells her children:

Yes, you can buy a few groceries.

Folks, I'm a mom. It's my job to provide my child with the basic necessities. And the way I see it, that includes groceries.

It isn't fair to burden kids with figuring out where their next meal will come from because you got too busy to hit the supermarket. It's certainly not appropriate to make your kids pay for the food in your fridge. You're still the parent. They're still the kids, especially when they're still in high school (one of her children is in college, the other a high school senior).

Now, might I expect my teenager to buy her own eats if she goes out to the mall with her friends at 16 and hits the food court? Sure. If she's got her own job, extras like that might be on her.

But groceries aren't extra. They're part of the three basics of human life: food, shelter, and clothing. If you can't give those to your kid, what are you doing being a parent?

Would you require your kids buy their own groceries?

Image via Reddit