
A mother of four and her husband recently came into some money and were able to save enough in order to do some renovating and remodeling to their four-bedroom, two-bathroom home. Their four daughters, however, weren’t happy about the decision as they’d been asking for specific additions for years and were ignored.
Now, she’s posting on Reddit to see if she and her husband made the wrong decision, and if they should have prioritized their kids over their own wants and needs.
Instead of giving their twins separate bedrooms or a new bathroom, a couple decided to add a home gym.
The pair has four daughters — an 18-year-old, two 16-year-old twins, and a 12-year-old. After giving themselves, the 18-year-old, and the 12-year-old their own rooms, the 16-year-olds were forced to share a room together.
Also, since the parents likely had a bathroom to themselves, all four daughters were forced to share one bathroom. “All of the girls share a bathroom and they’ve been complaining about it for a while,” she started the post. “We’ve been saying we’ll convert the laundry room into a bathroom for the twins for a while. It’s an expensive project so we’ve never gotten to it.”
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The mom said they decided to prioritize renovating their garage, including adding a home gym.
“My husband and I started working on our garage recently and turned it into a gym for him, a new laundry room, and an office for me,” she explained. “Then we came into some money and decided to renovate both bathrooms, remodel the kitchen, and do work on the backyard.”
Their garage turned into three separate rooms, and instead of adding another room or changing the laundry room into a bathroom, they decided to do other work around the house and even behind it. “The girls were pissed when we told them about the work we were doing on the house,” she continued. “They were saying it’s not fair that my husband gets a gym when the twins share a room and that we chose to work on the backyard instead of adding the third bathroom.”
The daughters called them selfish and have gotten their extended family involved. They rallied their grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and turned them on their parents.
They said their family members are now giving them a “hard time,” even though their plan was to work on the bathroom next, claiming that they have the space now that another laundry room was added.
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While kids might not love sharing, some experts say it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
When it comes to being a teenager, privacy and the absolute necessity that they place on it are universal truths. It makes sense, though. They are on the cusp of adulthood and are hardwired to start asserting their independence and autonomy from their families. Does that mean sharing a bedroom will somehow stunt their development? Most experts say no.
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“A strong argument could be made for shared living arrangements based on how peer relations facilitate social, moral and intellectual development,” Martin Ford, senior associate dean in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and an expert in child social development told the Times.
He agreed that private spaces might help some kids who struggle with independence, but those are outlier examples. He went on to say that even if parents have the room, it can be more beneficial for kids to share, but he also stressed, “Parents would be wise to observe their children, talk with their children, and do some informal experimentation to try to address what kind of living circumstances would best match their child’s personality and developmental needs.”
These twins might not love the fact that they are forced to share a room, but the fact is, they are closer to leaving the nest than they are to staying put. Chances are, their eldest sister, who is 18, will move out before then, and there will no longer be an issue. Even if they are forced to live together for another handful of years, the fact that, according to a 2021 CBS surveynearly 60% of adults admitted to sharing a room with a sibling when they lived at home, means it will all probably be okay. Even if they aren’t exactly thrilled in the moment.
Are these parents being a little selfish? Sure! And why shouldn’t they be? They are almost done with the day-to-day part of raising little ones, and it’s time for them to invest in their own future and comfort.
Reddit commenters weren’t quite as forgiving and said that they were in the wrong for not prioritizing their kids’ needs.
“Does going without a home gym diminish (your) quality of life? No,” wrote the top commenter. “Does forcing four humans to share one source of plumbing diminish quality of life? Yes. YTA for springing for a luxury instead of choosing to make life easier for your kids.”
Many people questioned the mother and father’s priorities, confused about why they would decide to add a home gym, work on the backyard, and remodel and renovate other rooms when they could have worked on what their children had been asking for. “‘We told our kids we’d add a bathroom when we could, and then we spent tens of thousands of dollars on the yard, a gym, an office and remodeling the existing bathrooms. Am I the (expletive)?'” read another comment, mocking her. “Now (original poster), read that back and think for a minute. You didn’t have to lie to your kids. Lots of families struggle with bathrooms. But you lied about it and then acted wildly selfishly.”
Some thought it was cruel to force four teenage girls into one bathroom to begin with, but refusing to change the situation when they had every chance to, made it worse.
Ultimately, however, kids are gonna complain, especially teens. They are also going to move out. These parents are the ones making the money and footing the bills. Maybe it’s okay for them to prioritize what they want first and then add comfort and convenience for their kids.
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Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment, pop culture, relationships, social justice, and politics.
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