Re: All The Other Parents Do It, Why Don't You?
R. Steve Walz
>
> Suppose you live in an afluent area where it's common for parents to
> buy their teenagers cars, cell phones, cover all their expenses, the
> kids don't have jobs, etc. etc. Now your (unemployed) teenaged son
> comes to you and says he wants you to buy him a car, pay for his
> insurance, buy him a cell phone, buy him video games, etc. His
> justification is that all the other parents do it, so you should do
> it, too.
>
> What is your response to this?
--------------------
No. Go earn your own.
Steve
Dan Abel
Scott en Aztl?n <scotte...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Suppose you live in an afluent area where it's common for parents to
> buy their teenagers cars, cell phones, cover all their expenses, the
> kids don't have jobs, etc. etc.
I don't live in an affluent area. That makes things a lot easier.
There is an affluent area (million dollar homes) about a mile away. I
just have to point out the difference between the houses, garages and
cars.
> Now your (unemployed) teenaged son
> comes to you and says he wants you to buy him a car, pay for his
> insurance, buy him a cell phone, buy him video games, etc. His
> justification is that all the other parents do it, so you should do
> it, too.
>
> What is your response to this?
That all the other parents *don't* do it. The people next door get a
box of food delivered every week. They don't have enough money to buy
food, much less those other things.
I've carped about phones on this group before. Things have changed,
folks. Phones are cheap now. We have five cell phones, one for each
member of the family. Nobody in the family has long conversations on
these phones. After the first one, they cost $10.00 per month each.
--
Dan Abel
da...@sonic.net
Petaluma, California, USA
br...@lanset.com
> In article <orq4i29ld06rsjip7...@4ax.com>,
> Scott en Aztl?n <scotte...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Suppose you live in an afluent area where it's common for parents to
> > buy their teenagers cars, cell phones, cover all their expenses, the
> > kids don't have jobs, etc. etc.
In answer to this, you just stick to your values instead of caving in
to this obnoxious culture. It will be depressing, you will feel like
poor trash, but it is the only good option. Read below: I know all
about this.
We have such a huge problem with this. We bought our house in 1986 in a
strictly middle- to upper middle-class area. Now, the area has evolved
into a true "millionaire's row", with big social changes.
I can see the difference between my daughter's and son's classmates.
She is 5 years older, and kids had birthday parties, not EVENTS. Kids
did not have laptops, camcorders, the latest video gaming equipment on
demand. The kids in my son's 8th grade class are prone to this, and
this group is a great deal wealthier than those earlier. Many families
are in the entertainment business, and their values, IMO, suck.
Our son has to do yard work to earn his allowance and really resents
it, as all the other kids' families have gardners. We don't, since we
have a problem using exploited labor. He wants a fairly expensive -$300
to $500- Christmas present, which we are not getting. We've always kept
gifts simple but nice. I dread the explosion and don't want Christmas
to even come this year.
We are definitely not stingy with these kids, giving them music
lessons, summer school enrichment, nice clothes, etc. The present
environment is qualitatively different, though, very demanding,
narcissistic, and shallow. Fighting it is really getting old, but what
else can you do.
Don't turn your kid into one of these overprivileged pets. Bad for him.