Reddit Criticizes Mom Who Expected Teenage Daughter To Uphold Her End Of Swimming Pool Deal

When OP's daughter was 12, she asked for a pool. All of the daughter's friends had one, and she felt left out. OP and her husband weren't pool people but had the money for an in-ground pool. So, they agreed to get a pool for their daughter, so long as she paid for half of it when she was old enough to work. The daughter excitedly agreed.

Four years later, OP's daughter is now 16 and has her first job. She wants to save up for a nice prom dress, but OP reminded her that she needs to pay for half of the pool. Both the daughter and the husband are bewildered, as neither of them thought the bargain was serious. OP, though, wants to teach her daughter how to be responsible with her money. Now, the daughter won't talk to her, and the husband is mad as well.

It was pretty unrealistic of her to expect a teenager to pay for half of a swimming pool from the get-go. If the parents could afford to pay for the pool, why would they need the daughter to pay for half?

Pools cost tens of thousands of dollars to buy and install. Multiple commenters pointed out how there are much cheaper options, such as smaller, inflatable pools. Even a large above-ground pool would cost a lot less, and be just as fun.

So many users wondered why the deal wasn't that the daughter could have the pool, but had to clean and help maintain it.

That would've been a much more reasonable deal for a preteen/teenager.