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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Keeping up with the material wants of teenagers today
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Francophile
Shipmate
# 17838
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Posted
My niece, who is 14 and a bit, received an I-pad Air (I think that's the correct title, apologies if it's not) for Christmas from her mum. She was over the moon, it was a surprise. She's had a difficult time after her father's death in 2012 and she does tend to be indulged materially (she's an only child) but is not "spoiled". She loves horses and works very hard at the stables where she rides, outwith school time.
It got me thinking, though, just how much it costs to keep a teenager, particularly a girl, what with clothes, expensive hobbies, electronic gadgetry, holidays etc. Should there be a limit on how much parents spend on teenagers, even if the family is well off?
What say readers?
Posts: 243 | From: United Kingdom | Registered: Sep 2013
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Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
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Posted
My boss has two teenage girls, she is a headteacher and her husband is a barrister.
The girls get less material goods than most I know and have to work for their pocket money. I admire the parents for this.
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Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
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Francophile
Shipmate
# 17838
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
My boss has two teenage girls, she is a headteacher and her husband is a barrister.
The girls get less material goods than most I know and have to work for their pocket money. I admire the parents for this.
That's how I feel too, but it's maybe not easy to follow this, what with peer pressure and the rest.
Posts: 243 | From: United Kingdom | Registered: Sep 2013
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comet
Snowball in Hell
# 10353
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Posted
some years I'm flush; most years I'm not. kid maintenance doesn't change much. clothes come second hand and needs are met at budget, but wants are kept small. When my son got his computer, I agreed to match how much he had earned up to a set amount. My daughter, when she was a teen, did a fundraiser for her computer. it worked really well, actually.
both older kids have cell phones that I pay for, but it's because I need to be in touch. I pay for a basic phone and cell coverage; they pay for the fancyass upgrade and the data.
my two sons both ask me for fancy video game consoles and games and whatnot every year. both know they will not get them and there's no disappointments. their dad often will buy them expensive stuff, but it doesn't win him any "favorite parent" points, they love me just as much as they always do.
I don't like video games, so I won't buy them no matter what. I also feel it's a colossal waste of money, as a given game will only hold their attention for a few days. Their dad buys them this stuff in part to spite me. doesn't matter, they know that they will be overindulged by him and they will get camping trips and homemade food and hugs from me. it all works.
if I splurge on my kids it's on books or "outdoor fun" - skis, bikes, skateboards. We talk about it a lot so they know why I buy the things I buy and there's no hard feelings or misunderstandings.
if I had a load of cash land in my lap would I buy them ipads or whatever? probably not. I'd rather they have to earn the money and buy the stuff themselves, because then they'll appreciate the value and take better care of the stuff. probably my splurge, if I became suddenly wealthy, would be to take them all over the world.
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Evil Dragon Lady, Breaker of Men's Constitutions
"It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.” -Calvin
Posts: 17024 | From: halfway between Seduction and Peril | Registered: Sep 2005
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Doc Tor
Deepest Red
# 9748
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Posted
The Girl does like her clothes, but she has a meagre allowance which she has to use to by the non-essential stuff. The Boy doesn't spend his on anything except big fantasy books (some of which I can blag free from the publishers). He does play video games, but the ones he goes for (which I suppose he gets from me) are the ones which (like Civ, and the Total War series) offer a different story every time they get played. Some games, we've been playing for literally years and are well worth the twenty-odd quid I've paid for them.
The one area where we do tend to splash out is trips - the Boy is heavily involved in Scouts, and the Girl has holidays away, too. Nothing too expensive, but cumulatively a lot more than is ever spent on a 'family holiday'.
Yes, all their friends have i-thises and thats, TVs and DVD players and computers in their rooms. Our two have never asked for those.
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Forward the New Republic
Posts: 9131 | From: Ultima Thule | Registered: Jul 2005
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
We are in the same situation as Doc Tor. Teenage girl wears a lot of hand-me-downs and charity shop finds. She has a Saturday afternoon job, and also babysits, so she has a small earned income, plus a small allowance from us.
Teenage boy's Christmas list was almost entirely books, plus a couple of DVDs. He's at University now, budgets well, and doesn't expect to spend his full student loan this year.
Teenage girl went to India with the Girl Guides this year, and has previously been to London and Shetland with the Guides. Teenage boy has also had trips abroad, so, like the Tors, we have spent money on them, just not much on material goods.
Both our teens are fortunate in having a good group of like-minded friends, with like-minded parents.
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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Chorister
Completely Frocked
# 473
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Posted
I did the same with my sons as my parents did with me - a small monthly allowance (so the teenager is free to spend it how they wish, dividing between essentials eg. clothes and luxuries eg. entertainment), then if they wanted more, it was earned by a part-time job. If teenagers, during their last few years living at home, get to experience this sort of arrangement, then it is easier to adapt to being a student or earner living away from home later on. Well, that's the theory, anyway!
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Retired, sitting back and watching others for a change.
Posts: 34626 | From: Cream Tealand | Registered: Jun 2001
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