Fork out the Cash? KID!
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Fork out the Cash? KID!
| Mon, 04-30-2007 - 1:42pm |
At what age (or should I say, what "extras") should kids pay for with their own $. My DS is 14 (no job till 15 in June, and no allowance (can't afford it right now) He is BIG into skateboarding and constantly breaks his boards. My Dh and I have bought him numerous boards (for B-day, X-mas etc..) but it's getting rediculious! (only because THESE boards are $100 plus!.) He is an excellent skater and we want to encourage his passion, but I think he should fork over the cash now! (he does make $ via working for neghibors sometimes so the opportunity is there) Any sugestions?

We bought all the sports equipment for the boys in terms of bats, gloves, wrestling shoes and soccer cleats. Im not sure where this fits in, to be honest! I hate to put it down because it's not a 'regular' sport.
How typical is it for a board to break? Is this normal use or misuse?
I suspect this is a situation where he ought to be paying half but admit I dont know a lot about skateboarding
I put a halt to the spending when it came to my older son's passion for name brand clothing. If I can't purchase it on sale or for what I deem a reasonable price, I don't buy it. He works and for instance paid about $35 for a hat. A BASEBALL HAT. I nearly cried. But it's his cash, and his gas he won't be able to buy.........OMG a hat. ARRGH....
I do buy them their sporting equipment, but try to be extremely frugal with that too.....I think if your DS is 14, can earn money in creative ways he SHOULD be responsible for some of the expenses he incurrs.......maybe every other board he buys, or half......or if you find you can't afford it, then he'll have to get even MORE creative and earn it all!!
An example is that my son insisted on a 'speed suit' for track (I call it a onesie---he always looked so cute in a onsie! hahahaha). I agreed as long as he was the one to buy his own track shoes........he did.......I came out ahead because the speed suit was $40, and his shoes were $55----it was a good compromise, and he realized he couldn't choose the most expensive pair of shoes,either! He'll spend MY money like it grows on trees, but he understands (normally---a hat for goodness sakes) when it's HIS money that it is harder to come by!
Kids don't make the best decisions with money, but they learn more if they are squandering their own....so I think a compromise of funds would be in order!
Good luck!
Right now, my ds15 rarely pays for any of his own stuff. He's not been able to secure a job because of his age and where we live, and I've never done the allowance thing, so he really has no money of his own. He has picked up odd jobs here and there and will occasionaly work with his dad and brother, and will use that money to pay for things like movies, special clothes, etc. Once he goes to working, he will be responsible for most of his gas money (he'll get his license this May) and will have to pay for any dates that he goes on. Alot depends on how much he will be able to work. Hopefully, he can make enough during the summer to help with those kinds of expenses during the rest of the year. During the school year, he is involved in practically every sport offered in school, which will really put a crimp in how many hours he can put in at a job. I guess I'm really lucky in the fact that he doesn't do video games and the like and is not really into iPods, etc. so I'm not pressured (by him) to purchase those kinds of high-dollar toys. (whew!) :) I guess that's why I am pretty comfortable paying for all his needs and a few of his wants.
Is this the same kiddo that will work for the neighbors in order to put more minutes on his phone as he needs it?
I think you need to consider how much your son will make at his job this summer and figure what exactly you will want him to pay for and is it reasonable for him to do so? I would imagine most jobs for a kid that age will not bring in alot of dough, so I wouldn't expect him to pay more than what he can actually handle. That being said, if he is paying for the minutes on his own phone and that's it, then I think it would be reasonable to ask him to use his money to buy a new board if he breaks one (or at the very least, pay half or 2/3, depending on his take-home pay). I think buying boards for him at Christmas and birthday, should he need one during that time, is perfectly reasonable too.
My kids were really into summer baseball (before they could play hs ball) I wanted to encourage that and I forked out ALL the money in order for them to play...baseball gloves, cleats, sign-up fess, etc, etc, etc because they wanted to play and I wanted them to play. But, I made sure I set it up in my own budget in order to do this for them. And, I have always made sure that they understood at least the concept of "budget", by letting them in on a lot of the finacial stuff in our house (age appropriate, of course!).
I suppose it all boils down to budget. If you can't afford to buy it, and he can't afford to buy it, then he will have to do without until that time when you *can* afford to buy it. And it depends on how willing you are to either buy it for him in order to encourage his past-time or how willing you are to let him possibly let it slide because he can't afford to buy a new board.
It's a tough call. Some folks put lots of responsiblity on their kids to pay for all of their extras and some (like me) don't. I don't think there is a right or a wrong, it's just one of those family by family decisions.
My son is 13 years old and is financially responsible for most of his things. He pays for them by way of allowance and odd jobs. I would say that if he's capable then I would insist that he save up the money to buy new boards. Offer new ones come Christmas/birthday but insist that anything in between be His responsibility.
stacy
I have paid for most of the sports that my Dd has been involved in. When she was 5-8 or so, she did gymnastics through private schools and that was really expensive ($100/month or so). I was really glad when she switched to soccer, which was about $50 a season. I think that included the team shirt, then you had to buy the cleats, socks and shin pads. She did that for several years, spring & fall. In high school, she switched to track. For every season, there was a user fee for all sports (not enought tax money) which used to be $25 and I think this year it was $50, plus they did get the uniform (shorts & top) for free, but had to pay for the team warmup suit ($50). I don't think it was required to get that but if everyone else on the team has the matching suit, you know that DD will want that too. She also had to get sneakers for indoor and special shoes for outdoor, but at least her feet haven't grown, so I didn't have to buy new ones this year.
I do buy these things because they are part of a school activity. She has had a part-time job since she turned 16 (she's now 18) and she pays for her entertainment, car ins., gas and a lot of her clothes, so I can't say that she doesn't contribute. She has stopped working right now because it would be hard to fit in track practice every day after school and still have time to do homework. I expect her to go back to work in the summer.
My son is a young 13 and has saved up nearly $800 towards a computer he would like to indulge his passion of video editing. He's only halfway there. But he has landed two lawn mowing jobs which earns him about $100 a month. And he house/pet-sits. And he is NOT the most ambitious boy in the world, either. He also saves holiday and birthday $$ from friends/relatives. He doesn't spend much otherwise. He's just very focused on that goal. I'm glad he feels so passionately about it. And I think he'll really appreciate it when he has bought it for himself.
Point is, as another poster said, I think it's reasonable to agree to replace boards as birthday/christmas gifts. But otherwise, if he is truly passionate then he IS old enough to find some way to earn $100 bucks every few months or so to pay for other boards. That will not only prove his passion, but give him a sense of responsibility and pride. It will also help him respect the value of the boards a little more.
Good luck to you!