The Rise of Venmo Parenting BY JULIANNA STEEN
What Is “Venmo Parenting”? We’ve all gotten the text: “Hey! We’re all chip- ping in $10 for Sarah’s teacher gift—Venmo me.”We live in a largely cashless world, where it’s no longer convenient to hand out a crisp $20 bill. As a result, it’s become increasingly common to split everything via Venmo, a popular payment app, for everything from birthday gifts and party contributions to class events and shared expenses. “The Venmo app makes settling up with friends feel more... friendly,”Venmo’s website claims. You can send and receive money with the tap of a button. It’s gotten so popular to share payments that Venmo has created “groups” and “split the cost” options where you can add one item and it divides the cost between everyone in the group. The concept of “Venmo parenting” went viral in August 2024 when mom Casey Neal posted a TikTok video proudly declaring herself a “Venmo Mom.” In the video, she states, “I don’t want to come in [and] set up. If the room mom needs money for everyone to
participate, fine. I’ll Venmo money right over. I don’t want to set up for it.” Soon after, she was invited to Good Morning America, where she shared the struggle she has faced as a mom who loves her kids but juggles parenting with a full-time job. Turns out, there’s an entire community of “Venmo moms” who could relate to her—and thus, the term was born. Why It’s So Popular There are a lot of benefits to being a Venmo parent: it saves you time when you aren’t able to make it to the store to pick up snacks for the soccer team, it’s more convenient than finding the exact change, and it’s easier to coordinate expenses with a whole group. Moreover, Casey Neal’s video was likely so popular because she expressed something many parents might not admit: “I do not want to be on PTO, PTA, room mom, team mom. I don’t want to do any of that.” Sometimes it feels like in order to be a “good parent,” you must be super involved in all of your kids’ activities and school organizations. The underlying assumption is that if you don’t take on a role like “homeroom parent,” your
kid won’t succeed—and the peer parental judgment is real. In her TikTok’s caption, Neal wrote, “Stop judging the Venmo moms lol.” But here’s the question that plagues the back of your mind: Is it true? Are Venmo Parents’ Kids Still Successful? In a survey of 1,000 American parents, Prod- igy discovered that “57 percent of parents are ‘Venmo Parents,’ choosing to contribute money for school or sports activities instead of attending events.” And you know what— 89 percent of Venmo parents report good academic performance by their children, tied with the “team parent.” So if you prefer to send money for birthday cupcakes instead of baking them yourself, good news: Your kid can still have a bright future. How It’s Changing Party Planning The differences may be subtle, but they’re distinct: The Venmo culture is shifting party planning. A few examples include fewer individual gifts and more group gifts, bigger, coordinated presents, shared party costs (bounce houses, venues, etc.), and less
16 JULY 2026 | CINCINNATIFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator