Borrowing money from your children?

[unbreakablelife]

How do you feel about borrowingmoney from your under 18 children?

I never really thought much about it until ready truu confessions, turns out its a big deal.

My 14yo son worked all summer, saving up for a car when he's 16. I had to borrow all his money to get a washer and dryer this weekend. He had no problem with it as long as I pay him back with

Comments

[juel1979]

Yeah, it seems the kid's making pretty good on the deal and was given a lot of concessions in how it was spent (helping pick out the appliances and whatnot). As long as the parents don't make a habit of it and the kid is happy with the deal and getting paid back, why not?

Another one of those fun gray areas. =P

[sheisred]

lolWHUT?

Maybe if my kid offered because he was old enough to be privy to our financial issues, and I KNEW I could pay him back ASAP. But if I had other options? Hell no, I wouldn't borrow money from my kid just for convenience's sake.

[sailorneptune]

I think it is okay as long as the parent actually pays the child back, and as long as both parties are okay with it. Good idea adding interest!

I have bad experiences loaning large sums of money to my mother-in-law and then never seeing it again :(

[couchtiger]

I don't think I would want to borrow money from my children. That would make me feel grossly inadequate as a parent and as a provider and I would do everything possible not to get in that position. If we needed to, however, I would be willing to borrow from funds allocated to them that they had not earned themselves, and then replenish over time - like dipping into their college fund unbeknownst to them, to save the family from a major financial crisis.

That being said, if the only options were to borrow some bucks from my kiddo or starve, I like to think I would take it, humbly and gratefully, and pay them back tenfold.

[cindyanne1]

I dunno... I hope I never have to do it, but this person sounds as though she was able to turn it into a learning experience for her child, and if it all goes as planned, everyone will come out happy in the end.

My kids have (and will continue to have) money from selling their 4-H market animals at the fairs. When my husband (who did the same thing... sold a steer and a pig each at two fairs per summer for the eight years or so he could do it) graduated high school and became ineligible to show, he had over $30,000 saved from that. My kids will likely follow the same route, but I don't want to have to touch that money unless I have to. It will be good for them when it comes to college and/or setting up a place of their own.