Should parents charge their children rent?

BALTIMORE -- For many college students, the school year is over, and they're back at home with their families. But should parents charge them rent? This debate is dividing the internet right now!

Graduate student Margaret Iapalucci says her parents charge all their kids rent after they finish school.

"As we get older, they definitely want to teach us responsibilities," she says. "Paying for phone bills or Netflix. Rent if we're at home after a certain period of time, if we have a job."

But rising college senior Tori Copeland says her parents would NEVER make her pay to live in her childhood home.

"They know that I'm working for my academic success," she says. "I just feel like that's not at the top of their priority list, to have me pay rent."

And parents have strong opinions about this debate. TikTok videos related to "parents charging rent" now have almost 70 billion views. Many comments say paying bills teaches responsibility. But others say it's too harsh. We took this hop topic to Dr. JP Krahel, an associate professor of accounting at Loyola University Maryland.

"Students want to get a little more security before they take that big leap and start living 100 percent on their own. And mom and dad's house is a nice little halfway house between your dorm and your own apartment," Krahel says.

He advises you don't have to charge a lot, and you can always give the money back later, but charging rent has a big benefit.

"You want to give your kids a bit of a challenge, so that they're not completely caught flat-footed when the world bears down on them," he says. "If you go from having no bills at all to having all the bills, that's a tough adjustment. That sort of step toward independence is going to help them become more confident adults."

Krahel says many families are hesitant to talk about finances, but you should have an honest conversation about the family budget, and also lay out goals for their time at home.

"The kid sees there are so many bills to be paid. That may encourage them to want to help out," he says. "I have some students who just knock me out with how prepared they are with their own adulthood. I have some students who terrify me with how unprepared they are! I'm like, you're not ready yet!"

That why mom of two Nicole Hoban says she WILL charge her kids rent.

"I want them to be independent," Hoban says. "So when they get older and I'm not here, they can be self-sufficient." 

A life lesson that's priceless.