Her 12-Year-Old Has Her Own Apartment
Audrey Barton, a mother of three from Michigan, sent social media users into a frenzy after revealing that her 12-year-old daughter has her own apartment.
She shared her family’s unique living situation on her TikTok account @organizedchaos4, where she has over 1.1 million followers and posts organizing content.
On January 26, Audrey uploaded a video of her cleaning her daughter’s apartment. As she tidied up the space, she also detailed why her pre-teen already had her own living area.
“Why does my 12-year-old have an apartment? I actually don’t call it an apartment. I just say that because a lot of people on social media call it that,” Audrey noted.
Nonetheless, after her family suffered a tragic house fire and lost their home, they were forced to start over. At that point, Audrey and her husband brainstormed how they could turn the tragedy into a blessing.
“So we started thinking about generational wealth and our kids. And we thought one thing we could do for them is create places for them to live in our house so they can save up for their own houses, and they’re not ever going to waste money on rent or anything like that,” she explained.
Audrey clarified that they aren’t “millionaires,” but she and her husband wanted to provide their children the opportunity to live with them as long as possible. That’s how the idea of giving each child an “apartment” emerged.
To be clear, Audrey’s 12-year-old daughter does not live outside of their family home. Rather, they constructed an apartment-like room above their attached garage to serve as her living space, fit with a bathroom, heating system, kitchenette, and living room. Meanwhile, their oldest son’s “apartment” will be in the basement.
“And then there are 11 years between my oldest and my youngest, so he will either be in the basement as well, or he will take over [my daughter’s] when she moves out,” Audrey said.
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Additionally, she shed some light on why she helps her daughter out with cleaning. According to Audrey, her daughter already handles day-to-day maintenance, but she still likes to head upstairs and do a more thorough “clean sweep” once every two months.
Audrey realizes that the space is “very large” for a 12-year-old and can be overwhelming to clean alone. She also doesn’t mind helping out once in a while and believes her daughter is very grateful for her assistance.
“I get a lot of comments like, ‘I would hate if my mom came into my room unannounced,’ but my daughter loves it. It’s one of her favorite things that I do, so she is always tickled when I surprise her with a little clean,” Audrey revealed.
Her TikTok video has since received over 1.6 million likes and thousands of comments, with many viewers praising Audrey’s approach to parenting.
“Having space for your kids when they’re older to not pay rent is amazing! She will appreciate this so much when she grows up,” wrote one commenter.
“I had an ‘apartment’ as a teen, too. It was so great to go to a local college and have a private place to come home to between work and studying,” shared another.
“I feel like you guys won parenting,” added a third.
Now, Audrey did receive plenty of questions as well, which she addressed in a follow-up video. Most notably, people wanted to know if her daughter still spends time with her.
“The answer is yes. We have mandatory family dinners, so we all eat together as a family. We set the table, we cook, we clean up together, all as a family,” she stated
“I learned very early in my parenting journey that when kids are not forced to do something… when they are given the option of free will, they are going to be far happier.”
Do you agree that, in today’s economy, planning to let your children live at home for longer in their own space is a smart move?
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