A mother struggling with bills has been left stunned after her 18-year-old son reacted furiously when she asked him to contribute £80 a month towards living costs. The son, who earns between £800 and £900 a month, is saving for university and reportedly became 'completely f***ing livid' at the request.
The mother, who is about to lose £60 in child benefit, posted on Mumsnet's Am I Being Unreasonable forum, explaining that things are 'really, really tough' for her family at the moment. She noted that her son has already saved around £2,000 for university and will be attending in September.
The post attracted a wide range of responses from other users. One commenter said the son has done well to save but added, 'It's not his fault you lose benefits you came to rely on. Don't punish him for it.' Another user countered, 'He's earning a decent wage so paying board is the right thing to do,' and shared a personal example of paying £40 per week back in 2000/2001.
Some users were more sympathetic to the son, with one stating, 'It wouldn't even occur to me to charge him.' Others supported the mother, with a user saying, '£80 a month will not put him in the poorhouse... but it might help him to understand that life costs money.' Another remarked, 'Welcome to the real world little boy... in the real world you'd be sleeping rough or paying £200 per week.'
At the time of writing, 66% of Mumsnet users voted that the mother was not being unreasonable to ask her son to pay board.
