This is a weird one, I’m not gonna lie…
I feel like you hear a lot of stories about parents still paying for their kids’ bills well into adulthood, but this one kind of flips that whole concept on its head.
Read on to see if you think this father is being an a**hole.
AITA for only continuing to pay for my adult children who’ve started families?
“I’m writing to ask about an ongoing argument I’ve been having with my fourth daughter, who I have been told to call “Emma” while on this subreddit.
In short, I’ve devoted myself (male, 64) to my career and future family since I was seventeen and started my first savings account, and I’ve managed to accrue quite a bit, but not an infinite amount of money. I have eight children, five daughters and three sons, and they’ve been the true lights of my life. I’ve paid for all of them to be properly educated, and all expenses up to their twenty-first birthdays.
My issue is this– when my second daughter was nineteen, she fell pregnant, and I made the decision to help her financially with the child after her twenty-first birthday. I’ve been supporting her family since, and eventually made the rule that as long as any of my own children had a child, the financial support would continue until said child turned twenty-one. The amount I pay includes rent, food, tuition, and a modest monthly recreation fund.
Since then, five of my children have started families, all early, and so I’ve continued to support them. My youngest daughter is not yet twenty-one, so she’s covered as well, but my fourth daughter, Emma, and my youngest son, have not had any children. Emma has taken umbrage with this. She is married and considers her pets to be her children.
However, her pets do not require tuition, or a recreation budget, or extra money to live in a child-friendly area. She claims that I am pushing her into having children she does not want, as she is “childfree.” I just feel as though, as a college-educated woman with a two-income home and very few responsibilities, she is able to take care of herself.
My youngest son has not made any complaints. Emma says that this is favoritism, and I’m trying to force a lifestyle on my kids.
I do not believe I’m in the wrong here, but my youngest son has guided me here to get a less biased opinion. Well then, reddit, am I the a**hole?”
And here’s how Reddit users reacted.
One reader said this guy is the a**hole and that it should be all or nothing.
Photo Credit: Reddit
Another Reddit user said that this guy has created entitled adults and this whole situation is his fault.
Photo Credit: Reddit
And this individual had an interesting take on the situation…
Photo Credit: Reddit
What do you think about this story?
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We look forward to it!
